Ups and Downs
by alb33
Summary: Sequel to Always There. Voldemort's back and things are about to change for the worse. Will the return of the darkest wizard of all time, in addition to a horrible new teacher and an invasion of Hogwarts take a toll on Auden and Fred's relationship? Part 2 of 3.
1. Chapter 1: Grimmauld Place

"Auden, honey wake up, please." Auden opened her eyes to see her mother standing next to her bed.

"Why?" Auden asked sleepily, rolling over and pulling the covers nearly over her head. She was exhausted to say the least, mostly because she had been up late writing notes back and forth to Fred using Pig. Fred had nicked the tiny owl from Ron's room and used it to send over the first note to Auden. They had written back and forth like that until the early hours of the morning and had only stopped because Pig was clearly getting tired. There had been something incredibly fun about writing notes to each other despite the fact that they were sitting in their bedrooms right next door to each other.

"We're going to Grimmauld Place today," Mrs. Parker answered in response to Auden's sleepily asked question. "Or did you forget?"

Auden yawned. Her parents had mentioned going to Grimmauld Place about a month ago, but she hadn't thought about it all that much. She actually hadn't been given all that much information in the first place. All Auden knew was that it was a lot safer for her family, the Weasleys and Harry to be shut inside Sirius' childhood home for the summer. "Why are we leaving now?" Auden muttered. "Can't we leave later?"

"No, we want to get there as soon as possible," her mother answered, heading for the door. She paused when she reached it and turned around. "Why are you so tired anyway? You didn't sneak over to the Burrow last night, did you?"

"No, but Fred and I were writing notes to each other."

"Well, that explains why you don't want to get up," her mother sighed. "It's your own fault."

"But I haven't seen Fred in two days."

"Yes, because there's been a lot to do to prepare for going away for the summer and Molly's been keeping her kids just as busy as I've been keeping you. We need all the help we can get."

"You make it sound like we're going on vacation or something," Auden sighed as she sat up and leaned back on her hands. While she didn't exactly _mind_ going to Grimmauld Place, she knew it wouldn't be a walk in the park either. She also knew somewhat of the reason for going. It was safe. And that meant that a war was really on its way. Everyone was in danger. And that she didn't like the sound of.

Her mother sent her a half-smile. "Just get ready, dear, and come downstairs as soon as you're done."

As her mother walked out of her room, Auden threw herself out of her bed and got dressed. Once she had finished getting ready, she began finishing her packing and double checking to make sure she had everything. The last thing she wanted to do was forget something because she probably wouldn't be able to come back and get it.

"Auden, are you almost ready?" her dad called from downstairs.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a minute," Auden called back. She then turned back to her trunk and chewed on her fingernail, thinking. She reached out towards her nightstand and grabbed the picture of her and Fred dancing in the Leaky Cauldron that was sitting there. She also grabbed the photo of her and Ben and placed the two pictures into her trunk before looking around her room, absentmindedly playing with the necklace Fred had given her.

Her brother, Ben, was currently in Romania with Charlie, studying dragons. He had written to them a lot at first, but now he didn't send letters as often. Auden reminded herself that he was busy in order to stop herself from being offended. She really missed him and now she worried about him with Voldemort being back and Ben being off on his own.

"Auden, come on, we're leaving!" called Mrs. Parker.

Auden shut her trunk and grabbed the handle before pulling it off of her bed. She headed down the stairs, dragging her trunk behind her, and met her parents in the living room. They were traveling by Floo Powder to Grimmauld Place and meeting the Weasleys there.

"I'll take your trunk and go first. You and your mother will follow," Mr. Parker told Auden, dragging her trunk into the fireplace with him. He threw down some powder. "12 Gimmauld Place!" he yelled as he vanished into green flames.

"Come on, dear," Mrs. Parker said, stepping into the fireplace. Auden followed and stood next to her mother who grabbed a handful of powder and threw it down, yelling out their destination.

Auden felt the usual spinning sensation that came with traveling by fireplace. She hated traveling by Floo Powder, but seeing as she couldn't Apparate yet and brooms were too slow, this was the only option. Fred and George had promised to Apparate with her using Side Along Apparation since they were of age now, but it hadn't happened yet, so she had no experience with it at all.

Finally, Auden and her mother arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place. Auden stepped out of the fire only to be immediately pulled into a tight hug by Mrs. Weasley. "How are you dear?" she asked as she let go of Auden and brushed soot off her shoulders.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley, how are you?" Auden glanced around quickly and noticed they were in the kitchen that looked like it was the basement of the house.

"I've been worse," Mrs. Weasley gave a weak smile. "Everyone in the Order's just been stressed lately. Your dad brought your trunk upstairs. You'll be sharing a room with Hermione and Ginny like always. We just got here as well, so Ginny is probably still unpacking and Hermione's coming a little later, just in time for dinner. Just go straight up to the second floor and it's the first door on the left."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," Auden smiled. She wondered were Fred and George's room was. She couldn't wait to see them, but especially Fred.

"The twins are on the third floor and the second door on the left," Sirius said, coming into the room and grinning. He seemed to know exactly what Auden was thinking.

"Hey Sirius," Auden grinned. "And thanks…you read my mind."

"No problem," Sirius replied, grinning back.

"Now, wait a minute, Auden," Mrs. Parker said with a grin as Mr. Parker came down the stairs.

"I know what you're going to say so Fred and I will stay at least five feet away from each other and we won't talk, laugh, smile, or have fun," Auden joked.

"That's all we ask," her dad smiled.

Auden laughed and rolled her eyes before dashing up the stairs. She came to the first floor of the house which was mostly just a narrow hallway with a staircase leading off of it. She dashed up those stairs to the next floor and walked through the first door on the left, like Mrs. Weasley had instructed.

"Auden!" Ginny cried, running to hug her. "Have your parents told you anything about the Order?"

"No, not much…It's kind of frustrating really. All I know is that this is headquarters and that the Order was started by Dumbledore years ago."

"Same here," Ginny said, flopping down on one of the beds. "That bed's yours," she said, pointing to the other bed. "And Hermione gets the cot I guess since she's last to get here."

Auden smiled and threw her backpack onto her bed. She pulled out the two picture frames and put them on her nightstand.

"Have you heard from Ben lately?" asked Ginny, looking at the picture.

"Not really. He tries to write about once a month, but he hasn't written since the beginning of June."

"Charlie doesn't write a lot either. Their job is busy, that's all," Ginny said.

"I know, I just miss him," Auden shrugged. She and her brother had always been close. They had done a lot together and not having him around still felt weird.

"He misses you, too," Ginny told her. "You two were always close. I'm sure he thinks of you just as much as you think of him."

Auden nodded. "I'm glad he's doing something he enjoys and that he's interested in, but I wish he wasn't so busy and so far away."

Ginny nodded. "Yeah, I get it. It's hard."

Suddenly there was a loud noise from upstairs. Auden looked up at the ceiling. "Fred and George?" she asked.

Ginny nodded. "Fred's missed you like crazy in the whole two days he hasn't seen you. You should go up and see him. I know you're dying to." She smirked before pulling out a Quidditch magazine.

Auden climbed the stairs to the next floor and found Fred and George's room. She could hear their voices coming through the closed door. They were probably inventing something new or making new order forms. She knocked on the door and the voices stopped quickly.

"Coming, Mum," Fred's voice yelled.

"If you're wondering about that thump, it was me…I, uh, tripped!" yelled George.

Auden giggled quietly. They thought she was Mrs. Weasley coming to yell at them. She leaned casually against the banister right behind her and waited for one of the twins to answer the door. A few seconds later, it opened and Fred stood there. "You're definitely not my mum," he said, grinning.

"Nope, can't say that I am," Auden grinned back.

"Get over here," Fred said with a smile as he opened his arms for a hug. Auden practically flung herself into them and relaxed into Fred's hold as she breathed in his familiar smell.

"I've missed you," she whispered.

"I've missed you, too," Fred answered, pulling away slightly and resting his forehead against hers.

"It's been two days, honestly," George snorted from inside the room.

"Yeah, but you saw Katie just yesterday," Fred argued, turning his head slightly to look at his twin, "so you've gone less time without seeing your girlfriend than I have."

George stuck his tongue out and Fred laughed before turning back to Auden and giving her a quick kiss. Auden sighed happily. She loved the fact that even though she had been dating Fred for almost eight months, he still managed to give her butterflies all the time.

"Last night was fun, though," Fred whispered as they broke apart.

"But getting up this morning was a pain," Auden giggled.

"I don't regret any of it," Fred declared, bringing a hand up to Auden's cheek and brushing his thumb across her skin as he grinned at her. He quickly kissed her again before turning and leading her into the room he was sharing with George.

"Hi Georgie," Auden said, crossing the room to give him a hug. He spun her around playfully before setting her down and ruffling her hair.

"Hi, Aud. You know, you really did scare us. We thought you were our mum. She tried to throw away our whole supply of Extendable Ears this morning, but we nicked them back when she wasn't looking."

"We're going to try to use them to listen in on the next Order meeting," Fred added, picking up a long skin colored string with an ear attached to the end. "Mum won't tell us anything even though we're seventeen."

Auden sighed and sat down on one of the beds. "How do you think I feel? I'm not even of age yet. I'm even more in the dark than you two."

"We'd tell you everything anyway if we were in the Order," Fred said, sitting down next to her.

Auden nodded. "So…are things still bad with Percy?" She asked the question tentatively, knowing that Percy leaving was still kind of a weird subject for the Weasleys. It was a weird subject for her as well, actually. She and Fred had actually walked in on Mr. Weasley and Percy fighting. Fred had tried to join in the argument when he realized what was going on, but Auden had dragged him away. She had brought him to the pond behind the Burrow, forced him to sit on a rock, and allowed him to rant and get his feelings out.

"Of course things are still bad with Percy," George whispered in response to her question. "Mum still cries if you say his name."

"He's a git," Fred muttered.

"He'll come around eventually," Auden told them, trying to be reassuring. She looped her arm through Fred's and rested her head on his shoulder. He rested his cheek on the top of her head and his hand on her knee, rubbing his thumb back and forth.

"I don't know, Aud," he whispered. "You heard him and Dad going at it. It was awful. He truly worships the ground Fudge walks on."

"But he loves you. You're his family."

"That's what we thought, too," George muttered, tossing an Extendable Ear into a box.

Auden changed the subject then in order to take the conversation away from Percy and she spent the next few hours until dinner in Fred and George's room talking about all of their new inventions, the Order, and the lies the Prophet had been spewing about Harry and Dumbledore. When Mrs. Weasley finally called them to the kitchen, Auden left the room, thinking the twins were following her, but she heard a loud pop just as she reached the doorway.

"Fred?" she asked, turning around. "George?" She scowled realizing the twins had Apparated downstairs without her. She thundered down to the kitchen to see them sitting at the table, laughing.

"You promised to take me with you!" she cried, putting her hands on her hips.

"Not specifically that time," George grinned.

"Next time," Fred promised.

"Don't worry, you won't have to wait that long," Mrs. Weasley said, slightly irritably. "Fred and George have been Apparating every two minutes ever since they passed their test."

"And they have yet to take me with them," Auden grumbled. "I've wanted to try it for ages."

"Wait until we take our own lessons, why don't you?" Ron asked, entering the room with Hermione.

Auden swatted his shoulder, then turned to look at Hermione. "Hi, Hermione, when did you get here?"

"About an hour ago by Floo. I heard it was better than ringing the doorbell."

"Yeah, any noise will set my mother off," Sirius said.

"Your mother?" Auden asked.

"Yeah, her portrait up in the hallway. Didn't you notice it?"

"No," Auden confessed.

"Ah, yes, you were too busy rushing up to see the twins. Or should I say you were rushing to see Fred."

Auden blushed as Fred smirked. "You_ do_ care about me!"

"Of course I do, you idiot," she giggled, walking up behind his chair and placing her hands on his shoulders. He tipped his head back and she kissed his forehead.

"Five feet," Auden's dad said, clearing his throat and smirking.

"Oh, right," Auden said in a joking tone, playing along. "Fred, we aren't allowed to be this close to each other. And we can't laugh or have fun." She forced her face into a frown and stepped away from him.

"Oh, I see. Yes, I completely understand," Fred answered, nodding solemnly.

Mr. Parker smiled and shook his head. "Behave," he reminded them.

"Oh, come on, Liam," said a voice from the doorway, "don't ruin their fun."

Auden turned to see a woman with bright pink hair coming into the room, Mad-Eye Moody and Remus Lupin right behind her.

"Hi, I'm Tonks," she said, extending her hand to Auden. "I don't think we've met yet, but you must be Auden."

"That's me. It's nice to meet you," Auden said, shaking Tonks' hand.

"She's a Metamorphmagus," Ginny piped up excitedly. "We met her this morning."

"Really?" Auden asked, interested. She had never met a Metamorphmagus before. She had heard of them and always thought that what they could do was fascinating.

Tonks grinned, screwed up her face slightly and morphed into a spitting image of Auden. The real Auden gasped and blinked a few times. "Freaky, isn't it?" Tonks asked, morphing back into herself.

"Very, but also incredibly cool," Auden said.

"We can eat now that everyone's here," Mrs. Weasley announced, "so find a seat."

During dinner, Tonks continued to amuse Auden, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, Fred and George by morphing her features into whatever they asked.

"I wish I could do that," Auden whispered to Fred.

"I don't," Fred whispered. "I wouldn't be able to recognize you with you changing your features every five minutes." He grinned widely at her. Auden raised an eyebrow. "And," he continued quickly, "I love the way you look now."

Auden shook her head and went back to her dinner, shoving Fred's knee under the table as she did so.

* * *

A few nights later, Auden was sitting on her bed, reading. Ginny and Hermione were down in the kitchen, leaving her alone. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Come in."

"It's me," Fred said, coming inside and shutting the door.

"Hey." Auden closed her book and sat up, grinning.

"Why are you sitting here alone?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Sometimes it's nice to be in the peace and quiet without you blowing something up in my ear," Auden teased.

"Ouch," Fred said, pretending to wince.

"I'm sorry," Auden giggled, giving him a sympathetic look. "Maybe I can kiss it better?"

"You most certainly can," Fred answered, leaning in and pressing his lips to hers. One of his hands found their way around her waist while the other slid around the back of her neck. Auden ran her own hands through Fred's hair before lightly settling them on either side of his face. Fred pulled her onto his lap as Auden's hands found their way into his hair again. This was probably one of the best feelings in the world: Fred's arms wrapped around her, cradling her to him as he continued to gently kiss her.

Suddenly, the door opened and George marched in, a paper in his hands. Auden and Fred sprung apart and Auden scooted off Fred's lap, but George seemed unfazed. By now, he was used to accidentally catching Auden and Fred in the middle of a kiss. "I was thinking," he said, flopping onto Auden's bed.

"About what?" Fred asked, clearing his throat awkwardly and blinking a few times. Auden smirked at the way his hair was sticking up where she had run her hands through it.

George looked up from his paper and stared at Fred. "If you fix your hair, maybe I'll tell you."

Fred smoothed his hair down as Auden giggled. He gave her knee a small shove. "That was Auden's doing," he muttered to George.

"Of course it was," George said nonchalantly. "Anyway, I had an idea about those Skiving Snackboxes. A new addition, actually. What about-,"

Suddenly, the door opened again and Hermione, Ron and Ginny walked in. "Oh, good, you're all in here," Hermione said. "We just found out some news about Harry." She nervously bit her lip. "He was attacked by dementors."

"What?" Auden cried, jumping up and widening her eyes.

Fred grabbed her hand and gently pulled her back down to a sitting position. "What happened, Hermione?" he asked her.

"Dumbledore was just in the kitchen. Apparently he and Mr. Weasley had just gotten back from sorting it all out…"

"Just tell them what happened, Hermione," Ron said.

"Well, Harry was walking home with his cousin and dementors appeared and started attacking them. Harry had to use the Patronus charm to get rid of them, and since he used magic outside of school…"

"They can't expel him!" Auden cried, her mouth dropping open. "It's self-defense!"

"That's what I thought too…I've even just gone and looked it up. There's no way he can be expelled," Hermione said. "But, anyway, he has to go to a hearing on August 12th."

"That's in three days," George pointed out.

"Yeah, Tonks, Kingsley, Lupin and Mad-Eye are going to get Harry now. They came up with a plan to get rid of the Muggles and everything," Ron said.

Suddenly, there was a crash and shrill screams began filling the air.

"Sirius' mother's portrait?" Auden asked, covering her ears.

Fred nodded. "Tonks must've knocked something over from the sound of it."

"How do you know it was Tonks?" Hermione asked.

"She's somewhat on the clumsy side," Ginny said, shrugging.

"Blood traitors and Mudbloods!" Mrs. Black was screaming.

"Oh, shut up!" Sirius' voice yelled. A moment later the screaming stopped.

"That must mean Harry's here," Ginny said. "Mum's probably going to send him up to your room, Ron."

"We should go and wait for him there, then," Hermione said, nodding. "Are you coming, Auden?"

"Yeah, I'll just be another few minutes."

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny left the room together.

"Have you met Kreacher yet?" Fred asked Auden suddenly as he traced his thumb over the back of her hand.

"No, who's that?"

"The house elf that lives here," George replied. "Sometimes we'll go days without seeing him and sometimes he's always around. Consider yourself lucky that you haven't seen him."

"He's miserable," Fred said, looking at Auden.

"Can't wait to meet him, then," Auden laughed.

Just then, they heard yelling from a room on the floor below them. "That must be Harry," Fred said.

"He sounds happy," Auden said sarcastically.

"Eh, let's go say hi anyway," Fred answered.

Auden stood up and began to make her way towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Fred asked.

"I thought we were going to see Harry," Auden answered with a confused look.

"We are, but who said we had to walk?" Fred raised his eyebrows.

Auden still just stared at him, not quite sure what he was getting at.

Fred and George looked at each other and grinned. "Weren't you begging us to take you with us when we Apparated? And didn't we promise you we would?" Fred smirked.

Auden squealed and ran over to him. "You really mean it?"

"Of course," Fred grinned, holding out his arm. Auden grabbed his wrist and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Don't look so scared, Aud," George laughed.

"Ready?" Fred asked. "One…two…three!"

Auden felt as if she were being squeezed through a tube that was a lot smaller than she was, but the feeling only lasted a couple of seconds before she, Fred, and George appeared in Harry and Ron's room with a pop. Harry and Hermione jumped but Ginny and Ron didn't flinch.

"That was great!" Auden cried, hugging Fred. "Thank you for finally taking me."

"How come Auden gets to Apparate with you?" Ron asked as Auden ran to hug Harry.

"Because, dear little brother, Auden is my girlfriend," Fred answered.

"But I'm your brother!" Ron answered.

"Maybe someday we will…if you learn to stop snoring like a mountain troll when you sleep," George said. "We can hear you all the way from our room."

Fred then turned to Harry. "You know, Harry, you shouldn't bottle up your anger like that. There might be a couple of people fifty miles away who didn't hear you," he said with a smirk.

Harry just stared at him. "Sorry," he said. "I'm just trying to get information."

"If you want information, we have a better way to get it," George held up a handful of Extendable Ears and passed them around. "Extendable Ears," he said to Harry. "Now, come on, out in to the hall."

Once in the hallway, they dropped the ear part of the Extendable Ears over the banister and put the opposite ends to their ears. They could hear the meeting going on downstairs. They could specifically hear Snape's voice.

"Snape's in the Order?" asked Harry.

Ron nodded. "I still think he's a git, though."

Hermione elbowed Ron. "Be quiet, I can't hear!"

Before they could hear anything else, Crookshanks walked into view at the bottom of the stairs and began swatting at the Extendable Ears. "No, Crookshanks, shop it!" Hermione whispered, but the cat didn't listen. In a matter of seconds, he had broken off the bottoms of all of the Extendable Ears.

"Hermione, I hate your cat," Ron mumbled.

"The meeting's over anyway," Ginny said as the door opened downstairs. As Mrs. Weasley walked out of the room, everyone shot away from the banister and flattened themselves against the wall.

"Come downstairs to the kitchen and help with dinner!" Mrs. Weasley called up the stairs.

Everyone on the floor above stared around at each other for a few seconds before Hermione answered. "Of course, Mrs. Weasley, we'll be right down!"

Fred looked at Auden. "Take my arm again."

Auden laughed. "You're going to forget how to walk down stairs properly," she said, but she grabbed his arm anyway.

Within seconds, she had appeared beside Mrs. Weasley at the bottom of the stairs. Mrs. Weasley screamed and swatted at Fred and George. "I don't know what I'm going to do with you two!" she yelled as George raced downstairs first, followed by Fred, who was dragging Auden by the hand. She giggled the whole way to the kitchen.

"I think we almost gave your mother heart failure," she said. "Maybe we shouldn't have scared her like that. I feel bad."

"I have a theory that she secretly loves it," Fred shrugged. 'I mean, I know things are pretty miserable right now, but imagine how bad things would be without me and George to keep things at least semi-lively."

Auden smiled. "I suppose you're right," she sighed.

"Now, Auden," her dad said as he looked over at them from across the kitchen. "You seem to keep forgetting our rules." He glanced at her and Fred's still intertwined hands.

"Don't listen to him, Auden," Tonks said with a wink, coming into the kitchen.

"No, I'm only her father," Mr. Parker laughed.

"I'm usually not one for rules anyway," Fred said, smiling down at Auden.

"You are when it comes to my daughter," Mr. Parker said, raising an eyebrow and smiling.

"Dad," Auden groaned, shaking her head slightly.

Dinner that night was loud and chaotic as usual with all of the people who were there talking at once. Auden was sitting next to Fred and he spent his time mostly talking to Mundungus and George while Auden talked to Hermione, Ginny, and Tonks. But even still, Fred kept his hand on Auden's knee throughout the whole meal. Every so often he would give her knee a squeeze and flash her a smile.

After dinner was over, Harry insisted that he be told something about what was going on with Voldemort. After much persuasion, Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker let him and everyone besides Ginny hear what was happening. This led to Ginny sulking and stomping up the stairs.

Once she had disappeared, there was a moment of silence before Sirius began talking and explaining everything Harry wanted to know. According to him, Voldemort was after some kind of weapon that he didn't have the last time he was in power.

"Time to clear the table," Mrs. Weasley snapped after a few minutes and before Sirius could get too far. She wasn't too happy about anyone underage learning about all of this information.

"Auden, will you dry these dishes?" Mrs. Parker asked later, once she had finished washing them all. By now, everyone had left the kitchen. Mrs. Weasley had sent everyone to bed and they had obeyed at once, terrified of making her even angrier than she already was.

"Sure," Auden replied as she grabbed a dishtowel and began drying the nearest bowl.

Her mother left the room, and Auden was left in silence. When a creak sounded from behind her, she turned around and saw Fred leaning against the door frame. "I thought you went to bed," she said, turning back to the sink.

"Without saying goodnight?" Fred answered. "Never." He pushed himself away from the door and walked over to Auden. He leaned his hands on the counter on either side of her and rested his chin on her head. "Need any help?"

"No, I'm almost done. Only two more dishes," she said.

After she dried the last two dishes, Auden put them on the counter. "I have to put those away, you know," she told Fred turning around to face him.

"Your point is…?" Fred asked, with his arms still trapping her against the counter.

"You have to let me go," Auden answered.

"What if I don't?"

"Then these dishes don't get put away and we get in trouble," she replied. "Well, I get in trouble because I'm the one who has to dry them."

Fred waved his wand at the dishes and they flew into the correct cupboard. "Happy?" he asked with a smirk.

"I forgot you were allowed to do that," Auden said, gazing at the cupboard where the dishes had disappeared.

Fred laughed before reaching over and moving a piece of Auden's hair behind her ear and leaning down to kiss her.

Auden wound her arms around Fred's neck and slid her right hand up into his hair as Fred picked her up and put her on the counter all without breaking the kiss. She moved her legs so that he could stand in between them and he did so before pulling away slightly and moving on to kissing her jaw. He trailed kisses all the way down the spot where her neck met her shoulder, causing Auden to suck in a breath and let out a whimper.

"I'm pretty sure that's not five feet!" They heard a voice say in a half serious, half joking tone. Auden peered over Fred's shoulder to see someone walking by the kitchen doorway. She jumped off the counter and ran to the door with Fred right behind her. They peeked out into the hall and saw Auden's mother about to walk upstairs with a mug of hot chocolate in her hand.

"Mum," Auden groaned, rolling her eyes, just as Sirius appeared beside her mother.

"Ah, caught the lovebirds out of bed, did you?" he asked.

"Yes," she answered. "And I believe it's time they actually _went_ to bed. Separately, of course."

"Mum!" Auden squeaked as Fred began to laugh. Mrs. Parker smiled at them before waving goofily and continuing up the stairs.

"Goodnight," she called.

Auden and Fred both turned to look at Sirius, who stared back at them for a second before giving them the thumbs up, winking, and then heading up the stairs.

* * *

**A/N: This is Chapter 1 of my sequel to Always There. If you haven't read that story yet, it's not crucial or anything that you read it first, but the Auden/Fred background is explained there.**

**Unfortunately, anything you recognize, I don't own.**


	2. Chapter 2: Back To School

Before everyone knew it, August 12th had arrived, the day of Harry's hearing. He was going to the Ministry with Mr. Weasley and they two of them had needed to get up and leave Grimmauld Place early, so they were already gone by the time Auden got down to the kitchen.

When she arrived in the doorway, she saw Mrs. Weasley, her mother, Sirius and Tonks sitting at the table and talking in whispers. She cleared her throat and knocked on the doorframe.

"Hello, Auden dear, did you sleep well?" asked Mrs. Weasley, looking up and smiling.

"Yes, I did," Auden said, returning the smile.

"Well, help yourself to some breakfast, dear. There's toast on the counter and eggs by the stove. I think there's some bacon over there too."

Mrs. Weasley was continuing to smile but Auden could tell that she was worried about Harry. _Everyone_ was worried about him.

"So, I heard that you and Fred got caught out of bed last night," Tonks whispered as Auden sat down with her plate of food.

"Who told you?" Auden spluttered, looking up in alarm.

"I did," Sirius said, standing up to clear his dish away. He grinned. "Your face was priceless."

"No need to look so mortified," Tonks smiled as Auden blushed. "We've all been embarrassed by our parents before."

"I _still_ am," Sirius grumbled, gesturing to the floor above where his mother's portrait hung.

Just then, Ron walked into the kitchen followed by Ginny, Hermione, Fred and George. Fred immediately sat down next to Auden, snatched her toast, took a bite, and put it back on her plate.

"Hey, get your own toast," Auden said, swatting at him.

"I think I will," he answered, standing up as everyone else sat down with their breakfasts.

"Hermione, you should eat," Auden said, noticing Hermione just picking at her food. "I know you're worried about Harry, but I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Hermione answered.

"If you aren't going to eat your bacon, can I eat it?" Ron asked through a mouthful of eggs.

Hermione shot him a look while Auden laughed and rolled her eyes.

Just then, Fred returned to his seat next to Auden. Noticing the toast on his plate, she quickly picked it up and took a bite before putting it back.

Fred pretended to pout. "That's my toast!" he said.

Auden shrugged and smiled. "No, that's payback," she answered.

After breakfast, nobody wanted to leave the kitchen. Everyone wanted to wait for Harry to get back. Instead, Mrs. Weasley got them started on a few chores that needed to be done around the house.

"Harry won't be back until much later, so you all need to keep busy and get your mind off things," she said.

Auden ended up being assigned to clean a bathroom on one of the upper floors with Ginny. As they went inside, they heard a gurgling sound.

"Is that the toilet?" Ginny asked in disgust.

"I think it is," Auden answered, wrinkling her nose.

The two girls looked at each other with grossed out looks on their faces. Neither one of them wanted to go near the disgusting gurgling toilet.

"What should we clean first?" Ginny asked.

Before Auden could answer, Fred and George appeared in the doorway. "Do you want to switch rooms with us?" George asked. "We're cleaning one of the bedrooms down the hall but we think there might be something useful in here that we can use to make a new product."

"That's disgusting!" Ginny cried.

"Yeah, whatever your new invention is, I'm not trying it," Auden added, wrinkling her nose. "What, do you use toilet water or something?"

"No, of course not, but we might be able to use the mold growing in the corner over there."

Auden and Ginny gave each other a look of shared disgust at Fred and George's plan.

"It's actually not as gross as you think. We promise," George said, crossing his heart.

"But it's actually top secret, so we can't tell either of you," Fred added.

"So will you switch with us?" George asked.

"Fine, anything to get us out of cleaning the bathroom," Ginny said, marching out the door and down the hallway. Auden went to follow her but Fred grabbed her arm.

"Maybe for Christmas we'll give you a nice sample of Toilet Bowl Taffy," he joked, winking.

Auden rolled her eyes. "What is it with boys and toilets?" she asked before following Ginny as Fred and George laughed behind her.

Auden and Ginny finished their cleaning and were heading back to the kitchen when they ran into Ron, Hermione, Fred and George at the top of the kitchen stairs. Before any of them could say anything, they heard Mr. Weasley's voice coming from the kitchen. "Tell them what happened, Harry," he was saying.

"Harry's back!" gasped Ginny.

The six of them had a scuffle over who got to go downstairs first and it resulted in the whole mob of them stampeding down the flight of stairs at the same time and skidding breathlessly into the kitchen.

"What happened?" Hermione said, gasping for breath. "Are you expelled, Harry?"

Harry stared at them blankly for a moment before his face broke into a grin. "Nope, I'm cleared of all charges."

Auden and Hermione screamed and ran to hug Harry while Ron grinned and said "Congratulations, mate. I knew you wouldn't get expelled." Fred, George, and Ginny began dancing around the kitchen to a chant that sounded like "he got off, he got off, he got off."

Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker were beaming as they began to cook dinner. Auden tried to go over and help them, but Fred grabbed her hand and began doing some kind of weird dance with her that was like a mix between a tango and a waltz. Auden had to laugh.

"You are so weird!" she exclaimed, giggling.

"Harry's staying at Hogwarts!" Fred said happily before kissing her cheek and letting go of her hands and going to the pantry to get some of the ingredients Mrs. Weasley needed for dinner.

Everyone was helping to prepare dinner, so things went pretty quickly. Auden was standing in front of a drawer counting out enough silverware when she heard Mrs. Weasley scream followed by a thump and a crash. She turned around to see Fred and George frozen with their wands in the air and the pot of soup poised at the very end of the table. The bread knife was stuck point down in the table, right where Sirius' hand had been while he was talking to Harry.

"Sorry, Sirius," George said guiltily once Mrs. Weasley had finished yelling.

"Don't mention it," Sirius answered, pulling the knife out of the table.

Auden was attempting to keep a straight face when Fred looked up and made eye contact with her. She shook her head as her face broke into a smile.

After dinner, Mrs. Parker announced their Hogwarts letters had arrived that afternoon and she passed them out to everyone. As usual, Hermione was the first to open hers. A small silver object fell out onto the table with a clunk. Everyone stared silently.

"Hermione," Auden whispered, picking up the object, which was a shiny silver badge. "You've been made a Prefect."

Hermione slowly took the badge from Auden, a look of glee on her face. "Wow," she sighed.

"Congratulations!" cried Mr. Weasley. "I wonder who the other Gryffindor Prefect is."

"Me," said a small voice. "It's me."

Everyone turned their heads towards Ron. He was holding up a badge identical to Hermione's and looking like he had just been hit on the head.

The room was silent as every pair of eyes continued to stare at Ron. Finally, Mrs. Weasley broke the silence as she squealed loudly and ran to hug Ron. "That's everyone in the family!"

"What are Fred and I, next door neighbors?" asked George, looking astounded. Mrs. Weasley ignored him.

Auden cracked a smile at George's remark but hugged Ron anyway.

"You know, Harry, I thought Dumbledore would have made you a Prefect," Hermione said, turning to face Harry. "Or even you, Auden."

"No, it's fine," Harry said rather stiffly. "I'm happy for you. You both deserve it. I've caused too much trouble over the years." He finally smiled after he said the last sentence.

Auden just shrugged. "I couldn't see myself as a Prefect anyway," she said.

At her words, Fred grabbed her in a playful headlock and ruffled her hair. "That's my girl," he grinned.

Auden wrestled out of his grip and smoothed down her hair, smiling the whole time. "Yeah, because being friends with you and George ruined my chances!"

Fred simply stuck out his tongue at her.

Mrs. Weasley was now saying that she would go to Diagon Alley the next day to pick up everyone's things. "And Arthur, don't forget to hire those cars we need to bring everyone to the train station," she concluded with a glance at Harry, who turned bright red.

"Will do, Molly dear," Mr. Weasley said.

Shortly after, it was time for everyone to go to sleep. Auden went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. The hallways were dark and silent as Auden made her way back down the hall to her room. When she was nearly there, she collided with something low to the ground. The thing grunted and Auden let out a small scream. She looked down to see a house elf looking up at her. _This must be Kreacher,_ she thought.

"Filthy blood traitor families living in the house of Black," the elf was mumbling. "And even a Mudblood. My mistress would not be happy."

Auden just stared at him at a loss for words. She was shocked at how miserable the elf was, even though Fred had warned her.

"Such scum living in the house of my masters," Kreacher continued. It seemed like he was talking more to himself than Auden.

"Hey, leave her alone," said a familiar voice. Auden whirled around to see Fred walking towards her. When he reached her side, he slipped an arm around her and glared at Kreacher.

"Kreacher does not take orders from filthy blood traitor brats," said the house elf nastily.

"Don't call him that!" Auden hissed, anger flaring up inside of her.

"Shh, I can deal with this," Fred whispered against her ear. "Kreacher, please go away."

The house elf stayed where he was, glaring up at the two of them.

Suddenly, Sirius appeared at the top of the stairs. "Kreacher, leave," he ordered. Finally, Kreacher sighed and walked away, mumbling under his breath.

"I'm the only one he listens to," Sirius explained. "He doesn't like it but he has no other choice." He shrugged and smiled. "Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight," Auden and Fred said together.

"Make sure you get to bed soon…and _separately_," Sirius laughed.

Auden groaned and Fred chuckled.

"I see what you meant about that house elf," Auden said as Sirius disappeared down the stairs, turning to Fred. "I don't like him."

Fred laughed at Auden's expression. "Nobody does." Suddenly, his face became serious. "If I ever hear him insulting you or anyone else though, I'll have his head hung on the wall with all the others hanging in the downstairs hallway. It's his life's ambition. He told me so."

Auden shuddered at the thought of those elf heads hanging from the wall. Fred pulled her into a giant hug and Auden rested her head on his chest. She could've stayed like that all night, but they heard Mrs. Weasley's footsteps coming up the stairs just then.

"Goodnight," Fred whispered, giving Auden a quick kiss.

"Goodnight," she answered, smiling as she quickly dashed upstairs to the room she shared with Ginny and Hermione. Both of them were still awake when Auden got back. They were sitting cross legged on their beds, talking.

"Well, you were gone a long time," Hermione said with a knowing smile.

"Was I?" Auden asked vaguely.

"I think she ran into a certain someone in the hallway," Ginny said to Hermione.

"Maybe I did," Auden replied, grinning and flopping down on her own bed.

"Auden, do you love him?" Ginny asked suddenly.

"Yes," Auden answered, only a little surprised at how quickly the answer came. "I think I always have loved him."

"Have you ever told each other?" Hermione asked.

"Well, no, not exactly," Auden said. "I mean, when I realized I liked him, I think I knew right away that I loved him and George kind of hinted that Fred felt the same way about me, so I think it's been sort of an unspoken understanding between the two of us and we've never actually said the words to each other."

"Why not?"

Auden shrugged and sat up on her bed. "I don't know," she answered honestly.

"You should tell him," Ginny advised. "I mean, clearly you both love each other so why shouldn't you say it? It's been eight months and the two of you are so obviously in love."

Auden laughed. "You do have a point," she said. "But I'm kind of scared."

"Of what?" Ginny asked gently.

"What if he doesn't actually love me back? What if he's actually not there yet? What if I've been led to believe he loves me but it's not even true?"

"He is," Ginny insisted. "Trust me, he is. First of all, if George told you Fred loved you, even if it was eight months ago, then it's true. Fred and George are right on about each other's feelings ninety nine percent of the time. They know each other better than they know themselves. And besides, it's totally obvious that Fred loves you."

"I think he's just as scared to tell you how he feels as you are to tell him," Hermione said. "Or else he would've definitely said something by now.

Auden nodded. "So you think I should tell him?"

"Most definitely," Ginny and Hermione said together.

Auden smiled and crawled under her covers. "Maybe I will," she said quietly. "As long as you two are positive that he feels the same way."

"Like I said, it's obvious," Ginny said. "Except to you, apparently."

"Yeah, I guess so," Auden snorted, rolling onto her stomach. As Ginny and Hermione crawled under their own covers, she thought over what they had said and wondered just how she would decide to tell Fred she loved him...if she could work up the courage of course.

* * *

A few weeks later, it was the first of September and time to go back to Hogwarts. Mr. Weasley had arranged two Ministry cars to take them to the train station where they would be meeting Tonks, Hagrid, and Mad-Eye Moody.

The morning had been full of the usual hectic activities of last minute packing and preparing, checking and double checking to make sure nothing was left behind. Finally, it was time to go.

"Hurry up, we're running late," Mrs. Parker said, ushering the kids out the door.

Auden slid into one of the cars next to Fred. He grabbed her hand and smiled at her. Once they reached the station, the adults ushered them to the platform, through the barrier and onto the train with only three minutes to spare.

Auden stuck her head out of the window and waved to her parents and the Weasleys. When they were no longer in view, she pulled her head back inside the window.

"Prefects have got to go sit up front…" Hermione began awkwardly. "But we should be able to meet up with you all soon. We only have to patrol the train once."

"Bye Ronniekins," Fred said, waving at Ron. "Have fun patrolling the train like a big boy."

"Fred," Auden said as Ron walked away, looking upset. "Can't you lay off just this once?"

"No, he's our brother and this is our job," Fred said, gesturing at himself and George.

"Erm, so do you guys want to find a seat together?" Harry asked.

"Well, I promised I'd meet some people but I can join you later," Ginny said with a smile as she walked away.

"What about you three?" Harry asked, looking at Auden, Fred and George.

Auden looked at Fred. "Do you mind if we sit with Harry?" she asked.

"Not at all," Fred answered. "In fact, there's Lee now. We can ask him to sit with us too."

"Oi, Lee!" George yelled. "Come sit with us!"

Harry led the way down the train until they came to a nearly empty compartment containing only two people: Neville and a blonde girl.

"Hello, Neville," Auden said, smiling.

"Hi guys," Neville grinned back. "This is Luna Lovegood," he said gesturing to the blonde girl.

She looked up from her magazine that she was holding upside down. "Hello," she said in a wispy voice.

"Is that The Quibbler?" Lee Jordan asked.

"Yes," Luna answered. "My father is the editor. This issue is all about Crumple Horned Snorkacks." She smiled an airy smile.

"Ah," said Lee. He turned to Auden, Fred and George and mouthed "Weird."

Auden didn't say anything. There was something about Luna she had instantly liked. She did seem a little odd, with her wispy, quiet voice and huge eyes that looked as if they were staring through you, but she seemed nice.

About an hour later, Ron and Hermione joined them in their compartment, followed by Katie, George's girlfriend. They spent the train ride playing games of Exploding Snap and eating food they bought from the witch with the trolley. By the time the train screeched to a halt at Hogwarts, Auden was excited like she always was on the first night back.

Fred grabbed her hand and they made their way to the carriages together. They managed to get one with Katie, George, and Lee. Fred held on to Auden's hand the whole time, tracing circles into her thumb.

"George really likes Katie," Auden whispered to Fred. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, he does," Fred answered.

"Does he love her?" Auden asked. The subject of love had been on her mind ever since Ginny had brought it up back in Grimmauld Place.

Fred nodded. "He told her early on in the summer for the first time, actually. Before we left for Grimmauld Place."

"Did he?" Auden asked. Fred nodded but didn't say anything else. Auden sighed. She was thinking that she might really have to be the one to say it first.

Finally, the carriages reached the castle and they climbed the front steps and made their way into the Great Hall.

"Wow, she sticks out like a sore thumb," George said at once.

Auden didn't have to ask who he was talking about. A new face was sitting at the staff table and she was dressed entirely in pink. She looked relatively short, even in a sitting position, but the pink definitely made her stand out.

"She looks like a toad…and look at that bow!" Lee exclaimed as they grabbed seats at the Gryffindor table.

The woman was wearing a small black bow on top of her fat toad like head. The bow looked like a fly. Auden half expected the woman to flick out her tongue and swallow her bow whole.

"She must be the new Defense teacher," Fred said absentmindedly.

Once everyone was seated, Dumbledore began making his usual start of term announcements. He introduced the new teacher as Professor Umbridge. She was welcomed with a faint applause from the students before Dumbledore attempted to speak again. He was interrupted by Umbridge clearing her throat, a high pitched, girly sound.

Umbridge stood up and grinned around the great hall. "Good evening, children. It is so nice to see all of your bright, happy faces smiling up at me. I'm sure we will be very good friends."

"That's likely," Fred and George said together from beside Auden. She smiled, but nudged Fred to be quiet.

Umbridge then launched into a speech that Auden could not pay attention to for the life of her. After about two minutes, she resorted to flicking little bits of paper back and forth with Fred and George. The only person who was paying attention was Hermione.

The ending of Umbridge's speech was met with a lot more applause than her introduction.

"I got nothing out of that," Ron said as dinner appeared and he hungrily grabbed a chicken leg.

"She was saying, Ron," Hermione sighed, "that the Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts."

"That doesn't sound good," Auden said.

"It's not," Hermione sighed.

"I'm not liking this woman already," George said. "She's overly cheery, but it's overly fake. She's the kind of person that will turn into something nasty as soon as someone sets her off."

"You can tell all that by looking at her?" Hermione asked.

George nodded. "And you're right. If the Ministry is trying to interfere, it's not a good thing. They don't believe You-Know-Who's back. Anything that Dumbledore would have normally done to make sure we're prepared isn't going to happen with toad woman around."

Once dinner ended, Auden and Fred walked up to the common room together. They stopped outside the door to the girls' dormitory.

"Night, Aud," Fred said, leaning down and kissing her. She kissed him back, but as he turned to go, she knew what she had to say.

"Fred…" she began and he turned around.

"Yeah?"

Auden fiddled with the end of her sleeve before looking up and smiling slightly. "I-I love you. You know that, right?"

Fred blinked before breaking into a huge grin. "I thought so, but it's still nice to hear you say it. I love you, too. Probably more than you know, actually. I've wanted to tell you for a long time and I'm actually impressed that you were the one to tell _me _first."

Auden felt as if a balloon were swelling inside of her. Fred was in love with her. And he was right. There was something about hearing the words actually come out of his mouth that made her insanely happy. She darted over to him and flung herself into his arms, pressing a kiss to his lips. He stumbled back a few steps, but then she felt his hand on her cheek as he kissed her right back.

"I love you," she said again, pulling away slightly.

"I love you more," he whispered, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Doubt it," she grinned. She kissed him quickly once more before backing away and her dormitory. All thoughts of the new teacher and the Ministry interfering at Hogwarts were pushed from her mind because Fred was in love with her and that was all that mattered.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone had a good holiday season! I wanted this chapter up sooner but things got busy so I wasn't able to finish/upload it, but it's up now!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3: I Must Not Tell Lies

The next morning, Auden met Fred in the common room and walked with him and George down to breakfast. Ron, Harry, and Hermione were already there. Hermione was going on about how excited she was to get their schedules and how it was O.W.L year.

"Don't remind me," Auden groaned as she sat down next to Ron, with Fred on her other side, and George across from Fred.

"Yes, we get to have meetings with our heads of houses too so we can discuss our future careers," Hermione added.

"I have no idea what I want to be," Auden said. "I guess being a Professor here wouldn't be so bad. Either that or a writer for the Prophet, although hopefully by then the writers will be spewing out a bit more truth and less lies," she added.

"I was thinking of being an Auror," Harry said, chewing his bacon thoughtfully.

"Yes, I was thinking about that too," Hermione nodded. "It's a very good career choice. I'd like to either be an Auror or a Healer."

"What about you, Ronniekins?" Fred asked his brother. "Going to become an Auror too?"

"I don't know," Ron mumbled. "I'd like to but I don't know if I'm cut out for it."

"Oh, look," Hermione squealed. "Here comes Professor McGonagall with the schedules."

Auden looked at her schedule when Professor McGonagall handed it to her. Today, she had Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and Potions. Tomorrow, she had Divination, History of Magic, Care of Magical Creatures, and Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Oh, joy," Fred said sarcastically from beside her.

"What?" Auden asked, peering at his schedule.

"George and I have Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions first and second this morning back to back."

"Defense Against the Dark Arts isn't usually such a bad class," Ron said.

"Yes, but I don't want to look at that ugly pink toad for a whole class period," Fred answered.

Auden quickly compared her schedule to Harry's, Hermione's and Ron's. They had all of their classes together. The only classes Hermione didn't have with them were the two extra classes that she was taking.

"We should head off to Transfiguration," Harry said. "It starts in fifteen minutes and the last thing we need is a detention from McGonagall on the first day."

"And we'd better head to Defense Against the Dark Arts," Fred said gloomily.

"You'll have to tell me all about the toad later," Auden said, leaning over to give him a kiss.

In the entrance hall, they split up into two groups and headed off to their classes. Auden took a seat next to Hermione in Transfiguration, while Harry and Ron sat behind them. Professor McGonagall took a huge chunk of class time lecturing them about their upcoming exams.

A folded piece of paper suddenly zoomed past Auden's head and landed on her desk. She unfolded it as quietly as she could and read the words written in Ron's messy handwriting.

_This is so boring. The first day back and she's already droning on about exams that I don't want to think about until they get here. Of course, Hermione's paying attention. I wouldn't expect anything less from her, though._

Auden smiled and began to discreetly write a note back. _I agree. So boring,_ she wrote. _You know Hermione will be on you guys to study. You're going to have to, you know. These are the most important exams we have to take. But I do agree with you. It's only the first day back after all._

She tossed the note over her shoulder and when Professor McGonagall's eyes darted in her direction, she moved her hand to her neck and scratched casually. She heard Ron snort quietly from behind her.

* * *

"Umbridge is the biggest, most annoying _git_ this school has ever had," Fred announced that night as he plopped down next to Auden on the couch.

"How so?" she asked as she put her Transfiguration book down on the table. She already had a decent amount of homework in all of her classes.

Fred leaned in and gave her a swift kiss as George sat on the arm of the couch. Hermione, Harry, and Ron sitting in their own chairs next to the couch, leaned in closer to listen.

"We aren't allowed to do any magic in class at all for one thing," Fred stated.

"No magic? None at all?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"Nope, none," George said, shaking his head. "Right off the bat she passed out a 'Ministry approved textbook' that weighs about a ton. Then she told us to put away our wands. And that stupid annoying throat clearing thing she does! By the end of class I wanted to strangle her."

"We could always give her a Nosebleed Nougat," Fred said to his twin.

"Are you just begging for trouble?" Hermione asked.

"Begging for trouble? No, Granger, of course not," Fred said with a grin. He leaned back on the couch, wrapped his arms around Auden's waist and pulled her back so that she was lying against his shoulder.

"Are these Snackbox things even safe?" Hermione asked.

"Well, we've tested them ourselves, and once you take the curing half, you stop whatever symptoms you have. But…"

"We don't know how others will react to them. Everyone reacts different, you know," continued George. "So, we thought of the perfect idea."

"Which is?" asked Hermione.

"We're going to start a testing group of whoever wants to join. Would any of you like to sign up?" asked George.

"No way," Ron said immediately.

"Harry?" George asked.

"Sorry, guys, but I'm going to have to say no."

"Hermione?"

"Absolutely not!"

"What about you?" Fred asked Auden, looking down at her.

"Um, no, I don't think so," she answered, smiling.

"Don't you want to support your boyfriend and his dreams to open his own joke shop full of the best products imaginable?"

"Of course, but how would you feel if I vomited all over you and wouldn't stop because I had a different reaction to it than you did?"

"Fair point," Fred shrugged.

Auden laughed. "I'll try one when you're absolutely sure they work the same on everyone, but until then the answer is no."

"You know," Hermione said. "You really shouldn't be testing these products on anyone here at school. Testing on yourselves is one thing, but on others…"

"Are you going to report us?" George asked.

Hermione sniffed. "No, but…but I will write to your mother."

Fred and George shared a horrified look. "You wouldn't!" they said together.

"I would," Hermione answered. "So be careful."

"Did you just tell Fred and George to be careful?" Ginny asked, coming over to them. "That'll never happen, so save your breath."

"See, Ginny knows how we operate," Fred grinned.

"Well, I should. I am your sister, or did you forget?"

"Sometimes I try to," Fred answered with a grin as Ginny stuck out her tongue.

The next day, Auden took a seat next to Hermione in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. Harry and Ron took a seat across the aisle. Umbridge hadn't even arrived yet, and the class was chatting away while they waited for her to arrive. Someone made a paper airplane and enchanted it to fly around the room. Suddenly, the paper burst into flames and turned to ashes that fell to the floor.

The class turned around to see Professor Umbridge standing at the back of the room, wand in the air and dressed in her usual pink outfit. She was wearing a smile that seemed as if she wanted it to look cheery, but instead it made her look like she was constipated.

Then, like Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Auden had been expecting, Umbridge began a speech about how magic wasn't to be used in class. Then, she passed out the textbook to the class.

"Is there anything in here about using defensive spells?" Hermione asked, as her hand shot into the air. Everyone's eyes were glued to Hermione's face.

Umbridge gave one of her signature high pitched giggles as everyone looked at her, awaiting her reaction. "Using spells? Why on earth would you need to use defensive spells?" she asked.

"Well, in case someone tries to attack us," Harry chimed in. Umbridge turned her eyes to face Harry.

"In my class, we raise our hands when we wish to speak, Mr. Potter," she said giving him her constipated smile. "And who would ever want to attack you?"

"Hmm, well let's see, maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry retorted. All eyes were on him now and Auden widened hers. He wasn't going to do this, not now. She heard Hermione groan from next to her.

Umbridge was silent for a brief moment before laughing girlishly again and addressing the silent class. "You have been hearing a rumor that a certain Dark wizard has returned. This. Is. A. _Lie._"

"It's not a lie!" Harry exclaimed angrily.

Auden closed her eyes and sighed. She wished she could send Harry telepathic messages telling him to put a sock in it. He was only going to get in trouble.

"I saw him, I fought him!" Harry was saying now. "You think Cedric Diggory dropped dead of his own accord?"

"The death of Cedric Diggory was merely an accident," said Umbridge.

"No, he was murdered by Voldemort!" Harry protested.

"Detention, Mr. Potter," Umbridge screamed, "for telling lies in my class!"

"I'm not lying!"

_He still can't stop talking,_ Auden thought.

"Now you've earned yourself a week of detention, starting tomorrow night at eight o'clock in my office. How does that sound?" sneered Umbridge. Finally Harry was silent, but he was still seething.

Later that evening, Auden entered the great hall for dinner, expecting to see Fred and George, and eager to vent about Umbridge, but they weren't there when she arrived. She had already filled her plate and started eating when Fred slid into the seat next to her and George on her other side.

"Where were you?" Auden asked as Fred kissed her cheek.

"Creating these," Fred answered, holding up a stack of flyers and handing Auden one.

_Wanted: A group of Gryffindor testers for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes products. Contact Fred or George Weasley to sign up or with any questions. _

"We're going to hang them in the common room tonight, and in some other locations around the school," George said, filling his plate with food.

"Weasley's Wizard Wheezes?" Auden asked, handing back the flyer to Fred.

"It's going to be the name of our joke shop," Fred said.

"Have you bought a place yet?" Auden asked.

"No, but we're looking at a place in Diagon Alley," Fred answered.

"It's nice," George added. "There's even a flat above the store where we can live."

"That's great," Auden smiled. "I'm proud of you two."

"Yeah?" Fred asked, grinning at her.

She nodded. "Of course. You're both well on your way to actually opening your very own joke shop. You've wanted to do this for years. There's no way I couldn't be proud of you."

After dinner, Auden sat with Harry, Ron, and Hermione around the fire, working on her homework. They had been given a lot, which was expected with it being their OWL year and all, but Auden had been doing really well with completing it all. She was a little surprised, actually. She thought she might have been distracted now that she had a boyfriend, but Fred and George had been busy as well with their products and creating order forms. She still had to work her butt off, but at least her work was getting done.

On the other hand, Harry and Ron were slowly slipping behind. Auden didn't know how Harry was going to manage when Quidditch started. Auden was on the team as well, but she figured she could probably handle it. Hopefully, anyway. Harry, on the other hand, had a habit of slacking off.

"I don't know how they're going to do it," Hermione said suddenly. Auden looked up to see her gazing at Fred and George, who were testing their Skiving Snackboxes on a group of first years.

"Do what?" Auden asked.

"Start a business. I mean, where are they going to get the money?"

Auden glanced at Harry. "I don't know, but they'll figure something out," she said, going back to her work.

"Hey, guys," Ron said. "I was thinking that I want to try out for Quidditch as Keeper. Wood's gone now and all, so I figured I would try." He looked rather embarrassed.

"That's great, Ron!" Harry and Auden said at once.

"Yeah, you should go for it!" Hermione added.

"You think I could make it on the team?" he asked.

"You have as good a shot as anyone else," Harry smiled.

Ron grinned back at him. "Thanks, Harry, but you know Fred and George won't let me hear the end of it when I show up."

Auden smiled. "I'll talk to them, but don't expect any miracles."

"I heard someone mention Quidditch," said a voice. It was Angelina. She had been appointed the new captain that year, which Auden thought was great. Angelina had been hoping for the position for a while and Auden knew she would be great at it.

"Yeah, Ron's trying out for Keeper," Harry said, beaming.

"That's great!" Angelina smiled.

"When are tryouts?" Auden asked.

"This Thursday," Angelina answered. "I want every member of the team there."

Harry's face paled. "Thursday?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" asked Angelina.

"I have detention with Umbridge every day this week," Harry answered miserably.

"Seriously, Harry?" Angelina asked with an exasperated sigh. "I wanted every member of the team there. Especially, you, the Seeker."

"I'm sorry."

"Try to stay on Umbridge's good side, okay?" Angelina answered as she walked away to tell Fred and George about tryouts.

"I'll tell you all about the tryouts, Harry, don't worry," Auden said, trying to cheer Harry up.

The next night was the first night of Harry's detentions. Auden was on the couch with Fred and George. Ron and Hermione were in their usual chairs. Hermione and Auden were all caught up on their work. Ron wasn't, but he had given up on his Potions essay and was now playing around with his chess set. Hermione was reading a book, and Auden was laying curled up against Fred's side with his hand in hers.

Harry looked absolutely miserable as he joined them by the fire.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Hermione said.

"Nothing," Harry answered quickly, holding up his right hand.

"Your left hand," Hermione said, rising from her chair and kneeling by Harry. She picked up his hand and when it was in the light, Auden could see that it was red and covered in dried blood.

"What did she do to you?" she asked in horror.

"It's nothing, I just had to write lines," Harry answered.

"Yeah, in your hand with a knife it looks like, mate," Fred said, looking concerned.

"It's a special quill. It writes with my own blood," Harry said quietly.

"That's sick," Ron said.

"Wait right here," Hermione said as she ran upstairs to her dorm.

"Tell Dumbledore," George suggested.

"No, I don't want to give Umbridge the satisfaction and plus Dumbledore has enough on his mind," Harry answered as Hermione returned with a bowl filled with a clear liquid.

"It's essence of murtlap," she explained as she picked up Harry's injured hand and placed it in the bowl.

"Ah, you're a genius, Hermione," Harry said, sighing with relief.

The six of them silently stared at Harry's hand, submerged in the liquid. The combination of the liquid and the bowl made the words etched in his hand larger and more visible. _I must not tell lies._


	4. Chapter 4: First Date

Auden didn't have Defense Against the Dark Arts again until Wednesday and she wasn't looking forward to going. She had only been to one class and she already hated Umbridge. She hated her teaching methods, her pink outfits, her laugh, and most importantly she hated what she did to Harry.

On Wednesday morning, Fred walked Auden to class. As they reached the classroom, they stopped walking and turned to face each other. Fred trailed his hand down Auden's arm until he reached her hand. He interlocked his fingers with hers and smiled at her.

"You know," he said quietly. "We could always skip class and you won't have to sit in class reading that book."

Auden gave him a half smile. "You know I'd much rather not go to that class but the last thing I need is a detention from her for skipping."

Fred nodded. "I guess you're right." He leaned down and gave her a kiss. They were interrupted by a familiar throat clearing noise so they broke apart and looked up. Umbridge was standing at the classroom door.

"Class begins in exactly….two minutes, Miss Parker," she said, glancing down at her watch. "I don't think you want to be late for a very important lesson because you were distracted." She shot a glance at Fred before looking back at Auden and laughing her girlish laugh. Then, she retreated into the classroom.

"I guess I should go," Auden sighed. She gave Fred a quick peck on the lips before heading into the room. She felt Umbridge's eyes watching her as she took her seat next to Hermione and took out her book. She figured that today would be no different from Monday's class.

"Today, class, I would like you to read chapter two of your textbook," Umbridge said in her fake cheery voice, confirming Auden's suspiscions about that day's class.

Everyone silently opened their books except for Hermione, who shot her hand into the air.

"Yes?" Umbridge asked, coming to stand next to Hermione.

"I've already read chapter two," Hermione said.

"Then move on to chapter three."

"I've already read that chapter too. I've read the whole book," Hermione answered.

Auden looked over at Ron and Harry and made an exasperated face. She knew they were thinking the same thing. Of course Hermione would have finished reading their massive textbook in two days.

"Well, have you now?" Umbridge was smirking at Hermione as if she didn't believe her. "You may proceed to take notes on every chapter, then. I want at least three pages of notes for every page you read."

Hermione opened her book and glared at Umbridge's retreating back. The class was silent once again.

Finally, the bell rang after what seemed like decades. Auden walked to the great hall with her friends and they took a seat at the end of the Gryffindor table. Fred and George joined them a few minutes later and Fred gave Auden a kiss on the cheek.

"How was class with the toad?" George asked them.

"The usual," Ron answered. "She and Hermione got into a little fight though," he said with a smirk.

"Really?" George asked, raising his eyebrows.

Hermione sighed. "It was hardly a _fight_. I just read the whole book so I had no work to do. I think I caught her off guard for a second but she just made me take notes on every chapter."

Auden then began putting food on her plate, but was distracted by Fred kissing her cheek, right next to her ear.

"What are you doing?" she said, laughing and turning to face him.

"What, I can't even kiss my own girlfriend?" he asked, leaning in to kiss her on the lips.

"No," she replied jokily as she put her hand over her mouth, so Fred ended up kissing her fingers. Auden laughed at his facial expression. "I'm kidding," she giggled as she allowed him to kiss her for real.

After dinner, Auden walked with Fred back to the common room. He apologetically told her he had another testing group to tend to with George. Auden told him to go and that she understood completely.

As Fred walked off to a corner of the room to join his twin, Auden was cornered by Hermione and Ron.

"We have an idea and we wanted to tell you about it while Harry's at his detention. We'll bring it up to him later," she said.

"Well, what is it?" Auden asked.

"Umbridge isn't teaching us anything," Ron said. "So, what if we got Harry to be our teacher?"

"What?" Auden asked.

"What he means is that Harry knows more than anyone what it's like to be out there fighting. He knows things. He can produce a Patronus. Since Umbridge won't let us use magic in class and isn't letting us have practice we were thinking of starting our own separate little group where Harry teaches us how to properly defend ourselves," Hermione said.

"That's a great idea!" Auden exclaimed.

"Hopefully Harry will agree to it. If he does, we can spread the word around and get people to come," Hermione said, grinning.

"What if Umbridge finds out though?" Auden asked.

"Well, that's part of the fun, isn't it?" Ron asked, his eyes gleaming. "Doing this behind her back?"

"That's true," Auden replied.

"It's rather fun breaking the rules, isn't it?" Hermione asked.

"Who are you and what have you done with Hermione Granger?" Ron asked with a smile as Hermione just blushed and laughed.

Slowly the common room emptied. Fred came over to say goodnight to Auden before he and George went up to bed. Soon it was just Auden, Ron, and Hermione left in the common room waiting for Harry.

It was close to midnight by the time Harry shuffled into the room, looking miserable. Hermione had already set up a bowl of murtlap and Harry didn't hesitate to sink his hand into the liquid.

They were all silent for a little while. Eventually, Hermione closed her book and sat up straight, looking at Ron and Auden for support. They both nodded at her, encouraging her to go on.

"Harry," she began as he looked up at her. "We were all thinking about Umbridge."

"What about her?" Harry asked.

"Well, she hasn't been teaching us anything about actually using spells and using spells are going to come in handy in our OWLs, but more importantly in the real world. If," Hermione took a breath, "Voldemort really is back, we need to defend ourselves."

"What are you getting at, Hermione?" Harry asked. He looked irritable and Auden had to wonder if this was the best time to ask him about their idea.

"We were thinking that we could start a little club of our own. You know, behind Umbridge's back. A club where we could actually learn and practice spells and you, Harry, could be the teacher!" Hermione finished.

"Me?" Harry gaped at her.

"Yeah, why not mate?" Ron said. "You've had experience. You've fought off You-Know-Who what, four times now?"

"Yeah, but I can't teach!" Harry exclaimed.

"Sure you can," Auden told him. "We'll all help you."

Harry sighed. "I don't know," he said finally.

"It is completely up to you, Harry," Hermione said. "But we really think this would be for the best."

"How many people were you thinking of inviting?"

"Oh, it shouldn't be that many, just a few," Hermione said quickly.

Harry was silent. "Fine," he answered after a minute. "I'll do it, but I'm not going to sit there and recount all the times I fought off Voldemort."

"Of course not, Harry. We don't expect you to," Auden told him.

They all went up to bed after that and before Hermione turned off the light she told Auden to start telling people about the club tomorrow morning and to meet in the Hogs Head at one o'clock on the next Hogsmeade visit, which was the Saturday coming up.

"You've got this rather planned out," Auden said, snuggling under her covers.

"Well, I was counting on Harry saying yes," Hermione answered.

The following evening arrived, bringing with it Quidditch tryouts in the late afternoon just before dinner. Harry miserably made his way to Umbridge's office while Ron, Fred, George, Katie, and Auden went to the Quidditch field. Ron was looking rather queasy as he walked slowly ahead of them.

"Please, don't say anything to him," Auden begged Fred in a whisper as they walked.

"And have a perfect opportunity to tease Ron pass right in front of us?" Fred asked, looking horrified.

"Yes, this time you should do just that," Auden said.

"What do you think George?" Fred asked his brother.

"Hmm," George said, pretending to think. "I'm thinking we have to take this opportunity, Fred."

"Good thinking, George," Fred grinned. "Sorry, Aud," he shrugged as she glared at him.

"I don't think you're going to change their minds, Aud," Katie said.

"I guess not," Auden answered as they reached the Quidditch pitch, where a bunch of Gryffindors were lined up to try out for the Keeper position.

"Good luck, Ron," Auden said, hugging him before he slowly walked over to the other Keepers, who were being put into an organized group by Angelina.

Fred, George, Auden and Katie made their way over to stand by Angelina, facing the group of potential new players.

"Alright, listen up!" Angelina yelled, making everyone grow silent. "This is what we're going to do so pay attention. One at a time, you will take your place in front of the goal posts. Auden, Katie, and I will take turns trying to throw the Quaffle past you. You have to save as many goals as you can out of the five that we're going to attempt."

"Yes," Fred cheered in a whisper. "George and I just get to observe today."

Angelina shot him a look as Auden whispered "lucky you," with a smirk.

"Alright, let's begin. What's your name?" Angelina asked, pointing to a small boy standing at the front of the group.

"Tucker," he said nervously.

"What year are you in?"

"Second year," he answered.

"You're up first, good luck," Angelina said with a smile.

The boy mounted his broom and took off towards the goal posts.

"Let's go, girls," Angelina said as she mounted her own broom, the Quaffle under her arm. Auden and Katie followed her lead and flew into the air. Angelina blew her whistle and the three of them zoomed down the field, tossing the Quaffle back and forth.

Auden was so glad to be back on her broom again. She hadn't been able to practice much over the summer seeing as she was stuck in Gimmauld Place, but she was just as good as ever.

* * *

"Look at her, she's so beautiful, even when she's playing Quidditch," Fred said, gazing up at Auden flying around the field. He and George were sitting on a nearby bench watching the tryouts.

George rolled his eyes and laughed. "I thought once you two were together, you'd stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Drooling over her," George laughed.

"I can't help it," Fred groaned. It was true. Not a day passed where he didn't marvel over the fact that Auden was his. She was beautiful, smart, funny and compassionate. And she was a great girlfriend to boot.

George smirked at his twin. "Have you told her yet?"

"Told her what?"

"That you love her."

Fred turned a light shade of pink. "Actually, she told me first."

George laughed. "She did?"

"Yeah, on the first night back."

"The girl's got guts," George grinned.

"I think it was pretty easy for her, if what you told me over the summer was correct."

"Which was what?"

"That we've loved each other for a while."

George smirked. "It was kind of obvious." He paused. "You know you both still blush when you touch each other, even if you're just holding hands," George said.

"We do?" Fred asked.

George nodded. "And you should see the way Auden's eyes light up when she looks at you. You've both got it so bad that it's almost sickening."

Fred couldn't help but smile. He loved knowing that Auden felt just as happy around him as he felt around her. And it made it even better that he was the one to make her feel that way.

"So, are you still planning on surprising her later?" George asked.

Fred nodded. He had decided last night to show Auden a secret tunnel he and George had found years ago. It wasn't even on the Marauder's map because it was located behind a blank chunk of wall and didn't lead _out_ of the castle, just to another part. All you had to do was push a certain area on the wall that was a tiny bit darker than the rest of the wall and a rectangular space of wall spun sideways to reveal a hole.

That wasn't the best part, though. The best part was what was at the end of the tunnel. It lead up a few flights of stairs, but it came out to an open tower. It was an excellent place to look at stars and watch the sunset, which they would be able to do if the timing was right. Fred had managed to get some food from the kitchens earlier before the tryouts and put it in a basket before smuggling it up to the tower and hiding it. He was pretty sure nobody else knew about the tunnel, not even Filch, but he didn't want to take the risk.

Just then, something grabbed his attention. "Look, it's Ron."

"He still looks like he's about to puke his guts up," George observed.

Ron flew to the goal posts and hovered there as Katie, Angelina, and Auden flew towards him. Angelina tossed the ball towards the hoops and Ron lunged for it, but missed it by a fraction of an inch.

"Come on, Ron, just stay focused," they heard Auden yell as she flew back to the opposite end of the field.

Despite how nervous Ron looked, he managed to save the next four goals, although some of them were a millimeter away from being missed. He had been the best out of all the candidates, though. Once his tryout was over and the players landed, Fred and George rose from the bench and joined the team.

"Well done, Ron," Angelina was saying. "You'll have to work hard during practices, but I will admit you saved the most goals."

"Yeah, thanks," Ron answered breathlessly.

Angelina turned and walked past Fred and George, blowing out a puff of air as she walked. "Hard work, being captain," she said as the twins both smiled at her.

Auden ran over to Fred as he and George neared her and Ron. "Isn't this exciting?" she cried, flinging herself into Fred's arms. "Ron's on the team!"

"Sure, Aud, if you say so," Fred smiled, hugging her back tightly.

She pulled back and looked into his face. "I do say so," she answered, grinning, as Katie came over to join them as well, taking George's hand.

"Congrats little Ronald, you actually made it onto the team," Fred said, looking at Ron.

"Thanks," Ron answered, looking dazed, but happy.

Fred looked down into Auden's face and he could now notice her nose and cheeks were slightly pink from the wind as well.

"How about you three go ahead to the common room," Fred said, glancing at George, Katie, and Ron.

George smirked at Fred as he headed up to the castle with Ron and Katie.

"What's up?" Auden asked once they were alone.

"Well, I thought I could take you on a date tonight since we haven't really been on a proper one," he grinned as he took her hand. He began swinging their hands as they walked.

"Ooh, sounds fun," Auden said, her eyes lighting up. "Can I go change first?"

Fred glanced over his shoulder. The sun was just starting to set. "No, it's okay, we don't have time," he told her.

"But I probably smell," Auden argued.

Fred leaned over and sniffed her. "Oh, yes, you smell absolutely disgusting," he said, pinching his nose with his free hand. "I'm only kidding," he assured her suddenly as she shot him a look.

"Fine," she answered. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see," Fred grinned.

The spinning wall was on one of the top floors of Hogwarts and the walk took about fifteen minutes. Eventually, Fred came to a stop in front of the correct spot, but Auden kept walking, obviously not expecting to stop here. She only realized Fred had stopped when their intertwined hands forced her to be pulled backwards.

"Why did you stop?" she asked.

"We're here," Fred answered. "Well, almost."

Auden looked around. "We're in an empty hallway," she said slowly, looking at him as if she thought he had lost it.

"Aha, but watch this," Fred said. He located the dark spot on the wall and pushed on it. The wall spun inwards, revealing the tunnel.

Auden's eyes widened. "When did you find this?"

"George and I found it in our second year. We had been running from Filch, when George tripped and rammed his elbow into the spot on the wall. I'm happy to say, Filch never found us, so I don't think he knows about this particular passageway, but let's go in before he does find out. Ladies first."

He helped Auden into the passageway, and they both lit their wands once the door shut behind them, submerging them in darkness. Fred took Auden's hand again. "Come on," he said, leading her forwards. He could feel her breath on his cheek as they continued down the passageway and up the stairs.

"We're here," he said quietly as they reached another wall. "But you have to close your eyes."

"Why?" Auden said slowly.

"I have to set something up. Please, just do it."

Auden sighed and closed her eyes. Fred waved his hand in front of her face to make sure she wasn't peeking. Then, he opened the wall, revealing the tower and the brilliant sunset. He positioned Auden so that she was standing perfectly in the doorway.

"Don't open your eyes yet," he said as he dropped her hand.

"I won't," she sighed, smiling.

Fred ran to the shadowy corner where he had hid the basket full of food and a blanket to sit on. He ran back to the middle of the tower's floor and spread out the blanket before setting out the food. He had made sure to get all of Auden's favorites, especially the dessert, chocolate cake. Chocolate was her one weakness. Fred knew she could probably live on chocolate.

Once the food was set up, Fred stepped back to admire his work for a second. On one hand, it wasn't much, but on the other hand, he had done this all by himself and he was proud of it. He walked back to where Auden was standing, getting more and more anxious. Hopefully, she would be surprised. He took her hand again and put his lips to her ear. "Okay, you can open your eyes now," he whispered.

He pulled his head away so he could see her reaction. As her eyes flew open, Fred bit his lip nervously. "What do you think?" he asked.


	5. Chapter 5: Fearless

Auden's eyes widened in surprise and joy as she saw what Fred had done for her. She slowly turned to face him and smiled widely.

"So, do you like it?" he asked eagerly.

"Like it? I love it!" she exclaimed, flinging her arms around him. She finally let go and walked over to the edge of the tower folded her arms on the stone railing and just stared at the setting sun. About a minute later, Fred appeared at her side with two bottles of butterbeer.

"For you," he said, holding one out to her.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as she took the bottle. "Isn't that the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?" She gestured towards the sunset.

"Second most beautiful," Fred answered with a corny grin.

Auden blushed and began running her finger around the rim of her bottle. Fred reached over and put his hand on top of hers and she looked up at him as he smiled at her.

"How did you do it?" she asked quietly.

"Do what?" he answered.

"All of this."

"It wasn't much," Fred replied, shrugging. "I just snuck down to the kitchens. I brought you there once when you were a second year, remember?"

"Yeah, you tickled the pear on that big portrait," Auden answered.

"Right, and the house elves are more than happy to give you whatever you want so I explained what I was doing and asked for your favorite foods. Then the elves put it all in a basket for me, and this was right before I met up with you to go to tryouts, so I ran up here and hid the stuff in that corner just in case anyone did come up here. And the rest you know about."

"This is the best first date ever," Auden said.

"I wouldn't say that before it's over," Fred told her. "You never know, maybe a swarm of angry birds will fly over us and leave us some lovely, er, gifts on our heads. Or maybe—,"

Auden cut him off by leaning up and kissing him. "I don't care what happens. As long as I'm with you, it's the best first date ever. I just hope _you_ don't mind that I'm not exactly dressed for the occasion." She gestured to her Quidditch robes and her hair that she had thrown into a messy ponytail.

"And you think I am?" Fred laughed, gesturing to his own robes.

"You look fine," she assured him.

"And so do you." Fred grinned as he took her hand and led her to the blanket. He opened the basket and took out the food. "I hope you're hungry," he said. "Those elves are really generous when they give out food."

"Well it's a good thing that I'm starving, then," Auden said, sitting down on one end of the blanket as Fred sat on the other side.

By the time they finished eating, it was dark out and the sky was filled with hundreds and hundreds of stars. Auden helped Fred get rid of all the trash and move the basket out of the way. Then, she tilted her head up to the sky and smiled peacefully.

"What are you thinking?" Fred asked as he scooted next to her and slipped his arm around her waist.

"Just about how glad I am that I'm dating you," Auden answered, moving closer to him.

"Really?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," she nodded.

Fred was silent for a minute. "Why?"

"Why what?" she asked, turning her head to look at him.

"Why are you so happy with me? I mean, there are other guys who would probably love to date you that are probably more mature and don't feel the need to goof around all the time. Other guys who get better grades and whose families make more money."

Auden looked at him, appalled. "Fred, listen to me," she said, reaching out and resting her hand on his cheek. "I love you and I don't care how much money your family has. In the big picture, it's personality that matters most. And you and George are far from stupid." She paused for a second. "Do you want to know exactly why I fell in love with you?"

Fred nodded. "Yeah, I do," he said.

Auden took a deep breath and picked at a loose thread on the blanket. "One reason is because you're funny. Absolutely hilarious. You can make me laugh even when all I feel like doing is crying. I actually _like_ the fact that you goof off and can make anyone laugh. On the other hand, you know when it's appropriate to be serious. You do try to lighten serious situations up with jokes, but you know where to draw the line. You know when joking is completely inappropriate. You don't turn things that _need_ to be serious into a joke. Also, like I said, you're smart. Both you and George are smarter than most people think. The things you've invented…" she stopped talking for a minute, lost in thought.

"Go on," Fred whispered. "What else?"

"You're always there for me when I need you. Remember my second year when I was really stressed out and broke down crying? You were the one that was there to get me to stop crying. _You_ encouraged me and convinced me to try out for Quidditch when I wasn't even sure if I was good enough."

"You forgot to mention my good looks," Fred said, smirking.

Auden laughed. "Of course," she said. "There's that too." She smiled at him and tilted her head slightly. "But while we're on the subject, I think you're very handsome. You have the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen."

Fred smiled. "Why, thank you. And as for you...you're beautiful. Your eyes are so big and warm and inviting. And you have the most adorable nose. And those few freckles that go across your nose...you're just beautiful. But even more importantly, you're so nice to everyone, even if someone isn't always nice to you. But on the other hand, when someone really gets you mad, you aren't afraid to put them in their place. You're smart and compassionate and funny and you just...get me. You get how important pranks and opening the joke shop is and you support me no matter what."

"Of course," Auden whispered. "I want the best for you. I want you to be happy."

"I want you to be happy too," Fred whispere back, tracing a finger down the side of her cheek. Then he removed his hand from around Auden's waist and changed his position so that he was lying on his back. Auden did the same and snuggled up against him.

"I can hear your heartbeat," she whispered.

"That's a good thing. It means I'm still alive," Fred joked.

"Oh, shut up," Auden said, swatting him.

They sat like that for a long time, just enjoying each other's company until Fred glanced at his watch and noticed the time.

"Holy house elves," he said, sitting up. "We were supposed to be back in the common room two hours ago."

Auden grabbed his wrist and pulled it towards her so she could look at the time as well. "Oh my gosh, we're going to be in so much trouble if we get caught," she whispered frantically.

"Relax, Aud. Think of it as an adventure," Fred said with a wink as he stood up.

They folded the blanket and stuck it into the basket. Fred took the basket in one hand and Auden's hand in the other. They raced back through the secret tunnel until they were back at the door that led to the castle. Fred slowly peered around the corner.

"Is anyone coming?" Auden whispered.

"No," he whispered back. "Come on."

Auden had been out of bed after hours with Harry, Ron, and Hermione before, but they had used Harry's invisibility cloak. Fred didn't have a cloak, so they were completely out in the open. Also, Umbridge was probably patrolling the hallways and she was the last teacher that Auden would want catching them out of bed. However, tonight, Auden noticed that she wasn't scared. Usually, she would have cared about getting a detention. She had tried to avoid them as much as she could and had only had a few in the past five years.

Still holding hands, the two of them tiptoed down the hallway as quietly as they could. They had almost reached the common room when they heard footsteps, followed by a high pitched voice. "Who's there?"

"It's Umbridge…quick, behind here!" Fred pulled Auden behind a tapestry with a hidden indent in the wall where it looked like a suit of armor had stood once before. Fred and Auden stood in the small space facing each other. Umbridge's footsteps continued for a little while longer until Fred and Auden couldn't hear them anymore.

"Is she gone?" Auden whispered.

"I think so," Fred whispered back.

Just then, the tapestry was swept back quickly, revealing Umbridge's toad like face glaring at them. Auden gave a small scream and buried her face in Fred's shirt.

"What do we have here?" Umbridge sneered, holding her lit wand in their faces. "Two children out of bed after hours, and in such a small space too!"

"We weren't doing anything," Auden said looking up at Umbridge angrily.

"Oh, yes, it sure looks that way," Umbridge said sarcastically.

"It was my fault," Fred said, stepping in front of Auden. "I was showing Auden something."

"Fred, no," Auden squeaked, pulling on his arm, but he gave her a look.

"It doesn't matter, Mr. Weasley. You were both out of bed. A detention for the both of you I think. How does tomorrow night in my office sound?"

When Fred and Auden didn't answer, Umbridge smiled nastily and gave one of her high pitched giggles. "Okay then, I will be escorting you the rest of the way back to the common room."

Auden and Fred shared a look as they walked ahead of Umbridge the rest of the way to the common room.

"Goodnight," Umbridge said as Fred said the password and the portrait swung open.

Auden and Fred didn't answer, but as they were halfway through the portrait hole, Umbridge cleared her throat.

"Goodnight, Professor," they said simultaneously before disappearing through the portrait hole.

Once they reached the safety of the common room, Fred dropped Auden's hand and began pacing the room.

"That toad!" he yelled. "I can't believe her."

"Shh, Fred, please, you'll wake everyone," Auden said.

"Who cares?" Fred said, but he lowered his voice. "I can't believe she would embarrass us like that. 'In such a small space, too!'" he mimicked.

Auden approached Fred and wrapped her arms around him. He returned the hug and they just held on to each other in silence for a few minutes.

"There's nothing we can do," Auden said, tilting her face up to look at him. "I don't want a detention with her either, but it's best to not make her even angrier."

"I guess you're right, but I want to get back at her."

"We will be getting her back! Saturday is the first meeting of that secret defense club I told you about. We'll be getting her back by learning spells she's not teaching us!"

"That's not enough," Fred whispered, leaning his forehead against hers and closing his eyes.

"It's going to have to be," Auden whispered, closing her eyes as well. "I want to prank her as much as you do, but I don't know if that's the best idea. I heard Filch talking to Mrs. Norris about how he almost has Umbridge convinced to bring back the old punishment methods."

"You mean how he used to hang people by their wrists in the dungeon?" Fred asked, pulling his head away in shock.

Auden nodded. "Yes, that and he was talking about whipping people too."

Anger flared in Fred's face again. "That's all the more reason to prank her. We can't let her get away with that!"

"No, my point was that if you prank her and get caught, she'll use those punishments on you and I don't want that. Promise me you won't do anything…please?"

Fred sighed. "For now, I guess I can promise."

"That's better than nothing," Auden smiled as she gave him a kiss. "Now, I'm going to go to bed. I'll see you tomorrow in detention." She was halfway to the dormitory stairs, and she turned around to wink at Fred.

Fred smiled. "It's a date," he said.

* * *

**A/N: ****The song that influenced the title is **_**Fearless **_**by Taylor Swift. Thank you to anyone who has reviewed so far and/or added the story to their favorites or story alert and to anyone who has added me to my favorite authors list or author alert. Things like that really do make my day :)**


	6. Chapter 6: These Things Will Change

Fred woke up the next morning to a pillow being thrown at his head. He rolled over and opened his eyes to see his twin staring at him from his own bed.

"What do you want?" Fred asked sleepily.

"Well, first of all, I want my pillow back," George said.

Fred grabbed the pillow and flung it back at George.

"So, how'd the date go?" George asked dramatically propping his chin in his hands.

Fred smiled. "It was amazing. That is, until we were caught by Umbridge."

"You were?" George asked.

Fred nodded. "Auden and I both have detention tonight. On a Friday. Whoopee."

"At least you can still go to Hogsmeade tomorrow," George said, getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

"True, very true," Fred said. He got up and had just finished getting ready before Auden rushed into the dorm.

"Have you heard about what Umbridge did?" she asked breathlessly.

"No, we haven't left our dorm yet," Fred said. "Why, what did she do now?"

Auden sat on the edge of Fred's bed. "She made an educational decree."

"Huh?" George asked.

"An educational decree!" Auden exclaimed. "Like something a king makes, but educational I guess." She shrugged. "Anyway, and I quote, 'boys and girls cannot be within eight inches of each other at all times." She said the last bit in a high pitched, prissy Umbridge voice.

"Is she serious?" asked Fred.

"Oh, yes," Auden nodded. "She even has the decree framed and hanging on the wall outside the great hall. Filch hung it up this morning."

"How did you find out about this?" George asked.

"Ginny told me when she came back from breakfast to get her bag."

"Why do I get the feeling she made this decree with us in mind?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"She didn't even catch us doing anything!" Auden cried, throwing up her hands.

"I know Aud. Calm down," Fred laughed.

"Anyway, I'd like to see her try to separate us eight inches apart at meals. There's not enough room to do that," Auden continued.

"Speaking of meals, shall we go down to breakfast?" George asked. "I'm starving."

Auden stared at him for a few seconds before laughing and walking out of the dorm with Fred and George right behind her.

* * *

At breakfast, Auden noticed Umbridge sitting at the staff table, reading the Daily Prophet and trying to look important. At least Auden didn't have class with her that day. If she did, she might have gone crazy having to put up with her in class and in detention.

"She's going to blind someone with all that pink," George mumbled.

"Well, if she didn't wear it, someone might mistake her for Neville's toad," Auden pointed out.

Fred laughed and accidentally spit out a mouthful of his pumpkin juice.

"Cute," Auden laughed, handing him a napkin.

Once they had finished eating, Fred walked Auden to her first class. "You're lucky you don't have class with Umbridge today," he said.

"Ha, and you do!" Auden joked. "Have fun with that."

Fred smiled. "Oh, yes, loads of fun I'm sure," he answered, pulling Auden close to him and giving her a kiss.

"See you later?" she said as he released his grip on her.

"Of course," he said with a smile.

Auden walked into Charms class and took her usual seat. She usually sat with Ron in this class and he was already there when Auden walked in. Hermione and Harry were seated at the desk behind them.

"Where were you last night?" Ron asked, once the class had gotten started practicing their spells for that day. Harry and Hermione were listening in as well.

"I was with Fred. I got back pretty late. We didn't mean to but we lost track of time and then Umbridge caught us."

"She caught you?" Hermione said in shock. "You don't have a detention, do you?"

Auden nodded. "Yeah, tonight after dinner in her office."

"I suppose I should have some murtlap ready for the both of you, then," Hermione said in the tone of an annoyed mother.

Auden smiled. "Thank you, Hermione. Have I mentioned what a great friend you are?"

Hermione just smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Where did you and Fred go?" asked Harry.

"To some secret tower he found years ago," Auden answered. "He snuck food from the kitchens and everything."

"You know," Hermione said. "I'm starting to realize that despite their immaturity, Fred and George have a sweet side to them."

"Yeah, it's really nice," Auden said.

"I'm sweet too, you know," Ron said, glancing at Hermione.

Auden snorted.

"I am!" Ron protested. "Aren't I?"

"Yes, I suppose you can be rather sweet when you want to be," Hermione said, smiling softly at him.

Auden grinned and tried to hold back a giggle as Ron's ears turned bright red.

The rest of the day went by fast, like it always does when someone is dreading something. Auden was absolutely not looking forward to her detention one bit, but soon enough, dinner was over and it was time to go to Umbridge's office.

"Shall we?" Fred said holding out his arm.

"We shall," Auden said, linking her arm through his. They walked like that all the way to Umbridge's office and Fred knocked on the door.

"Come in," called Umbridge.

Fred turned the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Auden's eyes widened in shock at the office's appearance. It was entirely pink. Every inch of space was covered in pink, or lace, and sometimes even pink lace. One wall was covered with several plates with pictures of moving cats on them. It was disgusting, really.

"You may each take a seat," Umbridge said.

It was then that Auden finally noticed Umbridge standing behind her desk. She had almost blended in with the wall behind her. She was gesturing to two desks positioned at opposite ends of her own desk. There was a quill and parchment on each desk.

Auden glanced at Fred before they separated and sat down at their desks.

"You're going to be writing lines for me today," Umbridge said.

"What do you want us to write?" Fred said. It seemed like he had asked her through gritted teeth.

"I would like you to write… 'I must not break rules,'" Umbridge said, flashing her constipated smile.

"How many times?" Auden asked.

"Well, Miss Parker, I think until the message sinks in. That should do it."

Auden and Fred didn't even bother inquiring why she hadn't provided any ink. They already knew the answer. Auden stared down at her paper, took a deep breath, and began to write. She immediately felt the pain in her left hand. When she glanced at it, she saw the words she was writing forming on her hand in small cuts. She chewed on her lip to keep her eyes from watering with pain.

Umbridge was sitting at her desk now, drinking tea and glancing back and forth between Auden and Fred with her bulging eyes. She eventually began shuffling through papers and Auden took the chance to glance up at Fred. His left hand was formed into a fist and Auden could see the blood leaking out of the cuts. She felt anger growing inside of her. How could Umbridge do this to students? It was awful to watch Fred sitting there in pain and not be able to do anything to stop it.

* * *

Once he was sure that Umbridge was looking down at her desk and not at him, Fred glanced up at Auden. She was chewing on her bottom lip and writing slower and slower as she went on. Fred moved his eyes to her hand. It was red and blood was trickling slowly out of the newly formed cuts. It took all he had to not stand up and punch Umbridge in the face.

Auden glanced up at him then and they made eye contact. "You okay?" Fred mouthed.

Auden nodded. "You?" she mouthed back.

"Yeah, I'm okay."

"Please continue working," Umbridge said, glancing up at them as Fred angrily returned to his lines.

Hours later, at eleven that night, Umbridge finally let them leave. Once outside the door, Fred gingerly picked up Auden's left hand and examined it. He saw her staring at his left hand as well.

"Does it still hurt? Mine does," she whispered.

"Yeah, it stings, but it's not too bad," he answered. He took her right hand with his left so he wouldn't hurt her even more and they began to walk back to the common room.

"You know, you don't have to hold my hand if it hurts yours," Auden said.

"No, it's okay, I can put up with it. I'm not going to let Umbridge stop me from holding my girlfriend's hand."

They finally made it back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry, Ron and Hermione were waiting up with them. Hermione had a two bowls of murtlap sitting on the table just like she said she would.

Auden and Fred immediately plopped on the couch and stuck their hands into their bowls, sighing with relief.

"What did she make you write?" Harry asked at once, looking up from his chess game with Ron.

"I must not break rules," Fred said angrily.

"Are you still coming to the meeting tomorrow?" Hermione asked, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Of course we are," Auden said. "Still one o'clock in the Hog's Head, right?"

Hermione nodded and glanced up at momentarily before returning to her book.

"Why the Hog's Head, Hermione?" Ron asked, studying the chess board. "It's kind of a weird place."

"Because I figured that it's less crowded than the Three Broomsticks and we'll have less of a chance of being overheard by someone who would run and tell Umbridge. Anyway, I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." She snapped her book closed and stood up before making her way towards the dormitory staircase.

"Goodnight, Hermione," everyone said at once.

"What's wrong, Harry?" Auden asked as Hermione disappeared up the stairs. Harry's expression had suddenly become slightly irritable.

"Everyone who shows up tomorrow will expect me to recount what happened with Voldemort. They just think I'm some kind of circus freak or something they can stare at in a zoo."

"We don't," Fred said. "We're your friends. Of course, I can't say the same for anyone else, but..."

"What am I even supposed to teach?" Harry asked.

"Ways to defend ourselves mate," Ron said. "Things we should be learning in class, but we aren't."

"Because the Minister is a disbelieving git and Umbridge is a kiss-up toad," Fred finished. "I noticed she has a picture of Fudge on her desk in her office. I'll bet my supply of Nosebleed Nougats that she's in love with him or something."

"Either him or one of the cats hanging on her wall," Auden said.

"Or the color pink," Harry added, finally cracking a smile.

"Ugh, all that pink makes me sick," Ron groaned.

"I'd hate to see what her house looks like," Auden smiled.

"It's probably shaped like a cat," Fred snorted.

"A pink cat," Auden added. "With a giant bow on the top."

Finally, for the first time in a long time, they were all really, truly laughing and they couldn't stop. Auden was glad that they were doing something behind Umbridge's back and fight against what the Ministry was doing.

* * *

The next morning, Auden woke up early and got dressed. When she went down to the common room, Hermione was sitting in a chair, reading, as usual.

"I'm glad you're here," she said. "I wanted to go down to breakfast, but nobody's up yet. Do you want to go together?"

"Sure, I'll just leave a note for Fred letting him know." Auden wrote a quick note to Fred saying she went to breakfast early with Hermione and she would see him later at the meeting. Then, she enchanted it to fly up to his dorm so she wouldn't have to go disturb anyone.

"You know, this practice group is going to be really helpful with our OWL exams," Hermione said on their way down to breakfast. "There is a hands on section of the exam and I don't know how Umbridge expects us to pass if she isn't teaching us. Anyway, hopefully Harry can teach us things that will most likely come up on the exam and-,"

"Hermione, relax with the exams," Auden said, interrupting. "I think the mentality of most of the people coming is that we're doing this to go against Umbridge."

"Right," Hermione nodded. "That too."

Ron and Harry joined the girls for breakfast and then the four of them walked towards Hogsmeade together. They had some time before they had to go to the Hog's Head, so they stopped in Honeyduke's and left the shop ten minutes later carrying a few items each. When they were done, they went into a few more shops before Hermione checked her watch.

"It's 12:45, so I think we should go to the Hog's Head now," she said.

The others agreed and walked over to the dingy pub a little way down the street.

"Should we get drinks?" Harry asked.

"Why not?" Hermione shrugged.

"Four butterbeers please," Harry said to the man at the counter.

Auden wrinkled her nose slightly at the grubby looking glasses the man pulled from under the counter.

After paying for their drinks the four of them took a seat in the back corner of the pub and waited. Soon after, people started arriving. Fred, George, and Lee were the first ones there, carrying bags full of items from Zonko's joke shop.

"Fancy meeting you here!" Fred exclaimed, acting surprised to see them. He sat down next to Auden and planted a loud, exaggerated kiss on her cheek. Auden felt herself blush, but she masked it with a giggle and playfully shoved Fred's arm.

"What'd you buy?" she asked, peering into one of the bag's Fred was holding.

"Just some useful prank supplies," Fred answered, smiling mischievously.

Auden rolled her eyes but let the subject drop. She sat back in her chair, grabbed Fred's hand and began absentmindedly rubbing her thumb along his.

All of a sudden, Harry spit out a mouthful of butterbeer. Auden gave him a strange look before noticing that Cho Chang had just come in through the door. Auden nudged Harry and wiggled her eyebrows. He shot her a look.

"Hi, I'm here for the meeting," Cho said shyly. "I brought my friend Marietta."

Marietta looked less than thrilled to be there and didn't acknowledge anyone else.

After that, people started arriving all at once. Ginny walked in with Luna Lovegood, Neville, Dean Thomas, and a Ravenclaw boy named Michael Corner that Auden knew Ginny had been seeing recently. A group of Hufflepuffs arrived that consisted of Zacharias Smith, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Susan Bones, Hannah Abbott and Ernie Macmillan. Colin and Dennis Creevey were also there along with Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, Katie Bell, and Angelina.

"How many people did you invite, Hermione?" Auden heard Harry whisper.

"Like I said, a few," Hermione replied, staring around at the chattering group.

"You call this a few?" Harry answered. He paused. "No way, I'm not doing this with all these people," he tried to stand, but Auden and Hermione grabbed each of his sleeves and pulled him back down. He sent a glare Hermione's way.

"I suppose I'll begin then," Hermione said. She stood up and cleared her throat and the group fell silent. "Well, you all know why we're here," she said.

"Is You-Know-Who really back?" asked the boy named Zacharias Smith obnoxiously.

Hermione glanced at Harry. "Yes," she answered.

"How do you know?" asked Terry.

"Dumbledore says-,"

"Dumbledore says because he says," Terry interrupted, nodding his head towards Harry. "How do we know what Harry says is true?"

Hermione tried to give an answer but Harry stood up. "Look, for one thing I'm not giving a recount of the night Voldemort came back, so if that's what you want then you can clear out now." He paused as if he were giving the opportunity for people to leave. No one moved, not even Zacharias. "You know the story of what I saw," Harry continued. "It's up to you whether or not you believe it."

"We wanted Harry to be the teacher because he knows what it's like to be out there fighting," Hermione added.

"Except most of the time when I was out there it was just pure luck. I didn't know what I was doing half the time and—,"

"Are you trying to weasel out of showing us any of this stuff?" asked Zacharias.

"Here's an idea," said Ron loudly, "why don't you shut your mouth?"

"Well, we've all turned up to learn from him, and now he's telling us he can't really do any of it."

"That's not what he said," said Fred.

"Would you like us to clean out your ears for you?" inquired George, pulling a long and lethal looking metal instrument from inside one of the Zonko's bags.

"Or any part of your body, really, we're not fussy where we stick this," said Fred. He glanced at Auden as if he was trying to see her reaction. She just raised her eyebrows at him and shrugged.

"Is it true you can produce a Patronus charm?" asked Luna Lovegood suddenly, in her airy voice.

Harry nodded. "Yeah," he said quietly.

"Really, Harry? I didn't know you could do that," Dean said in awe.

"Is it a corporeal Patronus?" asked Susan Bones.

"Yes," Harry answered. "Hang on, are you related to-,"

"Amelia Bones? Yes, she's my aunt," Susan answered. "She told me all about your hearing back in August."

"Well then, I guess when we find a suitable meeting place we can hold our next meeting, so when we find one we'll pass the word around," Hermione said.

"What's wrong with here?" Zacharias asked.

"Well, we can only meet here on Hogsmeade weekends and we'd like to meet more often than that," Hermione said patiently.

"Stupid git, really, that Zacharias," Fred whispered to Auden, who giggled.

"Before everyone leaves," Hermione added. "I'd like everyone to sign their name on this sheet of paper." She held the paper and a quill up before placing them on the table. One by one, everyone in attendance at the meeting signed the paper and then scattered in their own directions. Eventually, only Fred, George, Lee, Auden, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were left.

"I'm going with Lee, Fred and George," Auden told the others, as she grabbed Fred's hand.

"Okay, we'll see you later," Hermione said with a smile.

"So, what did you think?" Auden asked Fred as they walked down the street. George and Lee were walking a little ahead of them comparing their new Zonko's purchases.

"I think that Zacharias boy needs a good kick in the pants," Fred mumbled.

Auden smiled. "Besides that…what did you think about the meeting?"

"I think it sounds exciting. We're all going to need to defend ourselves eventually."

Auden nodded. "Do you think there will be a war?" she asked.

"I don't know," Fred answered. "I was only three when the first war ended so I was barely old enough to know what it felt like. My dad and Sirius think it felt the same as it did last time though."

Auden shivered at Fred's words. The thought of another war scared her.

Fred dropped her hand so he could slip his arm around her. "Don't worry," he whispered against her ear. "I won't let anyone or anything hurt you. Ever. That's a promise."

* * *

**A/N: ****The song that influenced the chapter title is **_**Change**_** by Taylor Swift. It reminded me of Dumbledore's Army so that's why I made a lyric the title.**


	7. Chapter 7: Here Comes the Sun

In the days following the first meeting, the problem of where to hold meetings remained unresolved. Ginny suggested using the Whomping Willow passageway to get to the Shrieking Shack, but Hermione shot that idea down by saying there wasn't enough room for everyone in there. Katie suggested using the library, but Hermione shot down that idea as well. The librarian didn't like even Hermione enough to allow a group of around twenty five kids to practice defensive spells in the library. Plus, there was a higher chance of being discovered in such an open place.

Umbridge also created another two educational decrees. One of them appointed her the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts, which meant that she had the right to observe classes, evaluate teachers, and put them on probation if they weren't up to her standards. The other decree stated that all clubs, groups and organizations were banned and in order to have them reformed, Umbridge had to give permission.

"She knows," Harry said to Ron and Auden as they read the notice over the top of a first year's head on Tuesday morning.

"She can't know," Ron answered.

"Like you said, Ron, the Hog's Head is kind of a strange place. People could have overheard," Harry argued.

"We also don't know how many people we can trust who came to the meeting," Auden added.

"But Hermione charmed the paper!" Ron said.

"Yes, well, then we'll know who ratted us out soon enough." Auden replied. "And anyway, I don't think it makes sense that Umbridge didn't come after specific people. Either she doesn't know everyone who's involved, or she's just giving us a warning."

"I'm going to get Hermione. I want to know what she thinks," Ron said, dashing towards the girl's dorms.

"Ron, wait, I wouldn't-," Auden said, but she was too late. She and Harry both grimaced as the steps turned into a slide and Ron slid back down to the floor on his stomach.

"That's not fair!" he yelled, standing up and dusting himself off. "Girls are allowed in our dorms."

Suddenly, Hermione slid gracefully down the slide and landed in front of them. "Well, if you had read _Hogwarts, A History,_ like I keep telling you to, you would know that when this school was built, boys were believed to be less trustworthy than girls."

"Have you seen this?" Ron asked, ignoring what Hermione had told him. He dragged her over to the bulletin board and pointed to the newest educational decree.

Hermione frowned as she read the notice. "Well, it can't have been anyone who was at the meeting the other day. I charmed the paper immediately after the meeting. Even someone who ran straight to Umbridge would have been affected by the charm."

"Well, then how did she find out?" Ron asked.

"We don't know for sure if she found out," Hermione said.

"It sure seems that way," Ron answered, gesturing to the decree. "This decree comes out _right_ after our meeting. It's odd."

"Oh, so you three have seen it too?" asked Fred, joining them at the bulletin board with George and Katie.

"Yeah, it's hard to miss," Auden answered, slipping her hand into his.

"What are we going to do?" Dean Thomas asked, coming over as well.

"We're going to keep holding meetings anyway," Harry said immediately.

"I was hoping you'd say that, Harry," George said with a smile.

"We just have to find a meeting place," Harry said grimly.

"Don't worry, mate, you'll find one," Fred grinned. "Just make sure you do it fast before everyone starts to get antsy."

"No pressure, though," George added.

"Yeah, great," Harry said, looking even more miserable.

"Don't listen to them, Harry," Auden smiled. She grabbed Fred's hand and began pulling him towards the portrait hole so they could go to breakfast. George and Katie followed them.

"Hey, wait!" yelled a voice as they were halfway to the great hall. The four of them turned around to see Angelina running to catch up with them. "I've been trying to catch everyone on the Quidditch team this morning to tell them," she said, as she reached them.

"Tell us what?" Fred asked.

"We need to go to Umbridge to get permission to reform the Quidditch team"

"We do?" asked Katie.

"Yes, teams are included in her new decree thing. It's a bit ridiculous, really, and such a hassle. Anyway, I'm going to talk to her before class today and ask her to reform. I've told Harry to hold his tongue in her class. You four should do the same. It's just a warning. Don't do anything to get on her bad side."

George saluted her. "Aye, aye captain!"

"This isn't a joke, George," Angelina sighed as she walked away.

"I saw her talking to Lee the other day in the common room," Katie pointed out as they resumed their walk to the Great Hall.

"Yeah, so?" Fred asked.

"It looked like they were flirting," Katie continued.

"_Really?"_ Fred and George said together, raising their eyebrows with interest.

"Oh, that's great!" Auden said. "Lee has liked Angelina for years."

"I know, and now I think she might be finally falling for him," Katie said. "It was actually taking her a while to, um, get over you, Fred, but I think liking Lee will help her finally completely get over you."

"Oh, that's good," Fred said awkwardly.

Auden blushed faintly and looked down at the ground. Even though Angelina had broken up with Fred herself, Auden still felt somewhat badly about what had happened. She felt as if she had somehow stolen Fred from Angelina and that Angelina had to hate her, despite the fact that she had been nothing but friendly ever since Auden and Fred had started dating.

Suddenly, she felt Fred squeeze her hand and she looked up.

"Don't feel bad," he whispered, as if reading her mind. "She understands what happened between the two of us and trust me when I say she has no feelings against you."

Auden nodded. "Okay," she answered quietly.

"I love you," Fred whispered against her ear before kissing her temple. Auden finally broke into a grin as they reached the great hall.

"I love you too," she replied.

The rest of the day went by in a fairly normal way. Everyone behaved in Umbridge's class, even Harry. She guessed the only thing keeping him from talking back to her was the possibility of her denying the request to reform the team.

Dinner arrived along with some good and bad news. Auden, Fred, and George were flicking bits of food at the back of Malfoy's head. His back was to them at the next table, and his blond hair was covered in dots of variously colored food that had failed to fall to the floor and had instead stuck in his hair.

"Ah, bullseye!" George cheered quietly as a small blob of mashed potato hit the center of Malfoy's head. Katie was refusing to join the fun, but she was watching with an amused expression.

"When you're done with your little food fight, I have news," Angelina said, approaching their section of the table.

"Is it about the team?" George asked.

"Yes, Umbridge said she had to think about it," Angelina said with a sniff.

"She has to think about it?" Fred repeated, looking awestruck. "I heard Montague boasting today that she's already given the Slytherin team permission!"

"Well, I expect she's enjoying herself, leaving us in suspense. Anyway, I've already told Harry, and he told me he held his tongue in class today."

"He did," Auden said.

"I believe him," Angelina nodded. "Still, Umbridge is enjoying her little reign of power. It's sickening. Anyway," she added, glancing further down the table and smiling. "I've got to go. See you guys later."

Auden turned around and watched as Angelina walked over to join Lee. She was grinning widely. Auden smiled to herself before turning back to her food. She was about to take a bite when Hermione, Ron, and Harry appeared suddenly and sat down across from them.

"We've found a meeting place," Hermione said at once.

"Really, where?" Auden asked excitedly.

"Well, Harry should explain," Hermione said. "He hasn't even really explained it to Ron and me yet. Anyway, go ahead, Harry."

"I fell asleep in the common room before dinner and Dobby came in and woke me up. He told me about this hidden room. I guess the elves call it the come and go room, but it's known to everyone else as the Room of Requirement."

"Okay, and where is this room?" George asked.

"It's on the seventh floor," Harry explained. "Across from that huge tapestry. Dobby gave me instructions on how to get in. Apparently, we have to walk by the door three times and each time we have to think of the thing we need."

"So say you really needed the toilet…" Ron began.

"Yes, Ronald, I think that's the general idea," Hermione said. "But, Harry, are you sure this room is, I don't know, trustworthy?"

"Dumbledore mentioned it," Harry said. "Last year."

"Oh, well, okay then, if Dumbledore knows about it then it's fine," Hermione said, nodding.

"I think we hid from Filch in there once," George said thoughtfully. "Remember Fred?"

"Yeah, only it was a broom cupboard back then," Fred said. "So you mean to say this room changes to meet the needs of whoever walks by?"

Harry nodded.

"Wicked," Fred said grinning.

"We were thinking of holding our next meeting tomorrow at seven in there," Harry said.

"Why don't we pass the word around right now?" Ron suggested.

Their group scattered to different places around the great hall, locating members of the club and whispering instructions and the date of the meeting.

The next night couldn't come fast enough. Harry thought it was best for himself at least, being the teacher, to get to the Room of Requirement early to see what it was like. Ron and Hermione volunteered to go with him and Auden volunteered herself, Fred, Katie, and George as well.

Once out of the portrait hole, Fred offered to give Auden a piggy back ride.

"Don't you think I'm getting a bit old for those?" she asked.

"No," Fred answered, shaking his head.

"Good, because I don't think so either," Auden said with a grin, as she climbed on his back.

"Who's up for a race?" Fred asked. When nobody answered, he sighed. "Who at least wants to bet Auden and I can beat George and Katie to the end of the hallway?"

"Oh, you're going to loses for sure," Katie said. In a flash, she had climbed onto George's back.

"Ready," Fred began.

"Set…" George continued.

"Go!" Katie and Auden yelled.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione laughed as Fred and George galloped down the hallway.

"Mush, mush!" Auden was yelling.

"Hey, that's what you say to sled dogs, not gallant steeds," Fred yelled back to her.

Auden just giggled and rested her chin on his shoulder. Katie and George ended up beating them by a fraction of a second. Auden and Katie slid down off of their boyfriend's backs and waited for the others to catch up.

They finally made it to the Room of Requirement. It was a blank stretch of wall when they got there, but Harry assured them that once they walked by three times a door would appear. Sure enough, after the third time walking by, a door had appeared out of nowhere.

"Wow," Ron whispered as they walked inside. The room was huge and filled with tons of cushions much like the ones they used in charms when they practiced Summoning Charms. There were also bookshelves lining the walls that were filled with books.

Hermione immediately began walking along the shelves, running her fingers along the book spines. "This is incredible," she whispered.

"I guess everyone can have a seat and we'll just wait for the others to get here," Harry said.

Fred immediately took a seat on one of the cushions and Auden sat in front of him on her own cushion, but positioned between Fred's legs so she could lean back on him. He slid his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. He nuzzled into her neck and Auden sighed contentedly. She felt so safe with Fred's arms around her and she wished she could sit like this forever.

Within minutes, the rest of the group had arrived. Auden noticed Harry blush as Cho Chang walked in the room, but he did manage to say hello to her, which led to Cho blushing as well. Saying hello was actually a start for Harry. He had the bravery to face Voldemort countless times, but he couldn't talk to a girl. It was quite sad, actually.

"Alright, everyone, well—," Harry began once everyone had arrived and was seated, but he was interrupted by Hermione's hand shooting into the air.

"Er, what is it, Hermione?" he asked.

"We should elect a leader," Hermione said.

"Harry's leader," Cho answered immediately. Harry turned bright red at Cho's words and Auden and Ron smirked knowingly at each other.

"Well, do we all agree, then?" Hermione was saying. "Harry as the leader?" When everyone nodded their heads, she continued. "I think we should also come up with a name. A good name, but one that nobody will understand. You know, in case we refer to it outside of meetings."

"The Defense Association?" suggested Cho. "The D.A. for short."

"Yeah, the DA's good," added Ginny, nodding. She was sitting on a cushion next to Michael Corner. "But let's have it stand for Dumbledore's Army instead. That's what the Ministry's afraid of, isn't it?"

"All in favor of Dumbledore's Army?" Hermione asked.

The vote was completely unanimous, so Hermione wrote the name on the top of the signup sheet in big, loopy letters. "Okay, Harry, continue with what you were saying," she said.

"Well, I thought we should start with disarming today," Harry said.

"You mean Expelliarmus?" Zacharias asked. "What's that going to do to help defend us?"

"It saved my life in June," Harry said softly, making eye contact with Zacharias, who fell silent. "Okay, so I think we should pair up and practice," Harry continued. "I'll walk around and help anyone who needs it."

Auden and Fred stood up and found a spot in the room. George and Katie selected a spot right next to them.

"Who should do the disarming first?" Fred asked as they faced each other.

"I'll go first," Auden volunteered.

"Okay, let's see it then," Fred said, smirking.

Auden smirked right back as she held up her wand. "Expelliarmus!" she cried. Fred's wand flew right out of his hand and into her outstretched one.

"Good job, Aud," Harry smiled as he walked by.

"I wasn't ready," Fred said hurriedly to Auden.

"Sure," she answered, handing his wand back to him.

By the end of the meeting, everyone was loads better at disarming and Harry told them so. Even Neville had managed to disarm his partner once or twice. Auden could tell that the mood had changed in the room. Every member of the D.A. was thinking that going against Umbridge was possible right now. It was definitely satisfying, knowing that they were going behind her backs. Learning this stuff made them feel like defending themselves wasn't a completely hopeless idea.

"I'm going to let people leave in small groups so we have a smaller chance of getting caught," Harry said. He stood at the door with the Marauder's map and signaled small groups of people out at small intervals of time.

When Fred and Auden reached the common room, it was nearly empty considering the meeting had let out relatively late. "I'm so glad to be all caught up on homework," Auden sighed as she sank into the couch cushions.

"Me too," Fred said, laying on the couch and putting his head in Auden's lap.

"You're all caught up on your homework?" Auden asked as she began running her fingers through his hair.

"Yeah, why the surprised tone?"

"When's the last time you were done with your homework before the last possible second?" Auden asked.

"I'm hurt," Fred joked, putting a hand on his chest. "But the real reason is so I could be completely free tonight."

"For the D.A. meeting?" Auden asked.

"Yeah, that, and for something else," he said, sitting up.

"Where are you going?"

"Wait here, it's a surprise," Fred answered, running upstairs. He returned just as Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned from the Room of Requirement.

"You two are still up?" Hermione asked and Auden nodded.

Fred held up what he had run upstairs to get.

"A bunch of twigs?" Auden asked, confused. She looked to the others to see if they understood, but they all shook their heads.

"Oh, silly me, I have these too," Fred said, brandishing a bag containing marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate that he was holding behind his back. He placed them on the table and sat on the floor to put another log in the fire since it was getting a little low.

"Excellent," Ron said, reaching for a twig and a marshmallow, but Hermione swatted his hand away.

"Are you that thick?" she asked.

Ron just stared back at her.

Hermione sighed. "We weren't invited," she said, trying to make Ron get the hint without being too obvious.

"You can join us," Auden said, on the verge of laughing.

"Oh, no," Harry said, smiling. "We're exhausted anyway. You two go ahead."

As the three of them headed for the dorms, Auden heard Hermione turn to Harry and say "At least you have tact." Auden couldn't help but grin and shake her head.

"Pardon me, miss," Fred said, pretending to be formal. He held out his arm. "May I escort you to your table?"

Auden giggled and took Fred's arm. "You may."

Fred led her to the spot on the floor in front of the fire before he took a seat next to her. "The menu tonight consists of smores," he said.

"Only smores?" Auden asked.

"Yes, the chef does make the best in the world," Fred answered as he began toasting a marshmallow.

"Does he really? I'll have to be the judge of that," Auden replied.

Fred finished toasting the marshmallow and put it on the graham cracker with the chocolate. Then, he passed it to Auden.

"How is it?" he asked when she took a bite.

"Hmm, well, it's okay, I guess…" she began, but then broke into a grin. "I'm kidding, it's delicious."

Fred stared into her eyes for a moment and Auden was mesmerized by the way the fire reflected in his stunning blue eyes. It almost melted her insides. She leaned over and gave him a gentle kiss.

"What was that for?" he asked, as she snuggled against his side.

"For just being you. Your amazing, sweet, funny self." She looked up and met his eyes. "I love you, Fred Weasley, and I always will."

He smiled down at her. "And I love you. Don't ever forget that."

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone likes the new chapter. The ending is a bit random, but I put it in because I felt like the last few chapters were lacking in Fred/Auden moments.**

**Reviews would be amazing. They really do make my day :) Thank you to everyone who has reviewed/added me to their favorite authors/added the story to their story alert or favorites. Also thanks to anyone who has reviewed/favorited Always There recently.**

**The title of this chapter came from the song **_**Here Comes the Sun**_** by The Beatles.**


	8. Chapter 8: You're Not Alone

The days turned into weeks and soon it was early December. Auden was terribly busy with homework, Quidditch, and D.A. meetings. She was thankful that Fred was involved with Quidditch and the D.A. as well or else she doubted she would get to see him very often.

Harry was having a hard time picking one day a week to hold meetings but Hermione assured him it was probably better if the meetings were staggered and unpredictable. His dilemma did get her thinking, though, and she showed up to the next meeting with a basket of Galleons that she began passing out to everyone.

"What's this?" Harry asked, taking the Galleon Hermione passed to him.

"This is how we're going to let everyone know when the next meeting will be," Hermione announced to the group.

"With money?" Ron asked.

"This isn't real money," Hermione said. "See the numbers around the edge? On real coins it's just a serial number, but on these, the numbers will change to reflect the time and date of the next meeting. Whenever the date changes, the coins will grow hot. When Harry sets the date on his own coin, everyone else's numbers will change as well. I also want to find a way to send messages on them as well."

"You're brilliant, Hermione," Harry said, staring at his Galleon in amazement.

"Honestly, you think of everything," Auden added.

The D.A. was the one thing besides Quidditch that Auden looked forward to. She found herself improving at spells she already knew, and learning new ones. She was also growing closer to people like Luna and Cho, both of whom she had been talking to more and more since the D.A. had begun.

As for Quidditch, Harry seemed to think they had a shot at winning their upcoming match against Slytherin. Angelina wasn't so sure, on the other hand. Ron's Keeper skills were improving, but there was still room for more improvement.

The day of the match against Slytherin arrived quickly. Auden woke up to find sunshine streaming through the window. The weather looked perfect so far. All of a sudden, she thought of Ron. He had always had a problem with nerves. She dressed and raced down to the Great Hall to see how he was doing.

"I'm lousy, I can't play to save my life," Ron was saying miserably to Harry.

"What are you talking about?" Auden asked. "You'll do fine today."

Ron was shaking his head. "No, I won't."

"There's no getting through to him. I've been trying," Harry said.

"Hello, Auden," said a voice from behind her. She turned to see Luna standing there wearing a giant lion shaped hat.

"Hi Luna, um, where did you get that hat?" Auden was having difficulty hiding her smile. The hat was so typically Luna. It was great.

"I made it," she replied. "I'm supporting Gryffindor today. Look what it does." She tapped the hat with her wand and it omitted a load roar that was uncannily realistic.

Auden blinked. "Wow," she said.

"Yes, I wanted to have it chewing up the serpent of Slytherin, but there wasn't time. Anyway, good luck today Ron. You look very pale, you should eat something." Then, Luna walked away, ignoring the stares she was getting from the majority of the people in the Great Hall.

"Angelina wants us down in the changing rooms as soon as possible, so we should go," Harry said. "Last chance to eat something, Ron," he added, his voice almost pleading. Ron didn't move. Harry and Auden shared a glance over the top of his head.

"Okay then, Ron, up you go," Auden said, grabbing Ron's elbow. Harry grabbed his other arm and they dragged him out of his seat.

They reached the changing rooms and Auden noticed Fred and George were already there. Fred came over to Auden and took her into a hug. "Are you nervous?"

"Not really," Auden answered. "Ron's another story, though."

Fred rolled his eyes. "He'll be fine. He was doing great at practice the other day. George and I are finally thinking of admitting he's our brother. Anyway, you should go change."

Auden kissed him quickly on the cheek and ran off to quickly change into her Quidditch robes. Once everyone was changed and ready, Angelina led them out to the field and the waiting Slytherin team.

"Captains, shake hands," Madam Hooch ordered. Angelina shook hands with the Slytherin Quidditch captain before Madam Hooch blew her whistle. Auden flew into the air as the Quaffle was thrown up to Angelina.

It was then that Auden heard it. People in the stands were singing. More specifically, people in the Slytherin stands were singing and Auden could just make out the words.

"_Weasley cannot save a thing, he cannot block a single ring. That's why Slytherins all sing Weasley is our King. Weasley was born in a bin, he always lets the Quaffle in. Weasley will make sure we win, Weasley is our King."_

Auden would have glared at them, but she didn't have time. She had to focus on the match. Katie threw her the Quaffle and Auden caught it. She flew to the Slytherin goal posts and threw the Quaffle. The Slytherin Keeper caught it by the tips of his fingers and sneered at her. At the same time, she felt something whizz by the back of her head and out of nowhere, Fred was there, hitting the Bludger the other way and glaring at Crabbe and Goyle.

The match was stressful to say the least. The Slytherins were playing as dirty as they could. Auden lost count of the number of times she narrowly avoided being hit by a Bludger. Just as she was praying for the match to end, Harry began diving at top speed towards the ground. In a split second, he had caught the Snitch and the moment he had, Crabbe hit a Bludger right at him, hitting Harry in the back. Auden and Angelina reached Harry first. He was proudly holding the Snitch despite having gotten hit with a Bludger.

"Are you okay, Harry?" they asked.

"Yeah, fine…we won!" he answered.

"Saved Weasley's neck, haven't you?" jeered a voice from behind them. Draco Malfoy had just landed a few feet away. "I've never seen a worse Keeper, but then again he was born in a bin after all. Did you like my lyrics?"

"Ignore him, Harry," Auden said, as the rest of the team landed beside them and attempted a group hug. Fred grabbed Auden and spun her around before planting a kiss on her lips. Through it all, Auden vaguely registered Ron who was walking alone back to the changing rooms. She stared after him and was just going to say something to Fred, when Malfoy spoke up again.

"We wanted to write another couple of verses, but we couldn't find rhymes for fat and ugly. See, we wanted to sing about his mother. We couldn't fit in useless loser either, for his father."

Auden's insides felt like they were being consumed by a forest fire, she was so angry. She turned and gave Malfoy the worst glare she could manage. Fred and George had also realized what Malfoy was saying and were glaring as well.

Auden looked away from Malfoy and saw the look on Fred's face. She touched his arm. "Don't do anything you'll regret," she whispered. "Just ignore him."

"Potter likes the Weasleys though. You spend holidays there and everything," Malfoy continued, grinning now as he noticed the reactions he was getting. "I can't see how you stand the stink, but I suppose when you've been dragged up by Muggles even the Weasleys' hovel smells okay."

At these words, George made a move at Malfoy, but Harry and Katie grabbed him while Malfoy laughed.

"And you too, Parker." His cold grey eyes were on Auden now. "You're even _dating_ one of them! Personally, I don't like having any of them _near_ me, nevermind kiss me."

Auden felt her hands balling into fists. "Shut it, Malfoy," she hissed, sending him another glare.

"I actually kind of feel sorry for him," Malfoy continued, smirking and jerking his chin towards Fred. "Your ugly face is probably the best he can do."

Auden and Angelina almost fell on their faces as they tried to stop Fred from lunging at Malfoy.

"Don't, Fred!" Auden yelled as he struggled against their hold.

"He insulted you! He's not getting away with it!"

"Shh, it's okay," Auden said, her voice high with panic. She shot another glare at Malfoy.

"No, it's not," Fred answered, grunting with the effort of trying to break free.

Malfoy had now moved on to insulting Harry's mother, and in one movement, both Harry and George were racing towards Malfoy, knocking Katie to the ground.

Madam Hooch had finally turned her attention from reprimanding Crabbe to the fight between Malfoy, Harry, and George. "Impedimenta!" she cried, rushing towards them.

"You, and you!" she said, pointing at Harry and George and looking like she was about to breathe fire. "McGonagall's office…now!"

Harry and George hung their heads and shuffled off towards the castle. George had a bloody nose and Harry, a bloody lip.

"Everyone else, return to the changing rooms at once," screeched Madam Hooch.

Fred and Auden walked behind everyone else to the changing rooms. Auden could tell Fred was furious. She was almost afraid to say anything, but she tentatively took his hand and when he didn't shake her off, she gave it a squeeze.

"He insulted you," Fred said again.

"I know, but it's Malfoy, what do you expect? I hate him just as much as you do, trust me."

Fred ran his free hand over his face and through his hair. "He just infuriates me," he sighed.

"I know," Auden said, in a comforting tone.

Fred stopped in his tracks and pulled Auden to him in a crushing hug.

"Fred, I can't breathe," she said, trying to lighten the mood.

He let her go and cupped her face in his hands. "You're beautiful. I want you to know that. Don't listen to anything Malfoy ever says about you."

"When have I ever?" Auden whispered. That got Fred to smile and gently kiss her.

"I love you," he whispered, pulling away slightly and looking down at her.

Auden smiled and gently reached up to run her fingers through his hair. "I love you, too," she whispered back, "so much."

Fred grinned and threw his arm around her so that they could walk back to the changing room together.

* * *

Later that night, Auden was sitting on Fred's lap in one of the armchairs in the common room. They, in addition to Katie, Angelina, Lee, Ginny, and Hermione were anxiously and silently awaiting the return of George and Harry.

"It can't be good," Angelina said finally. "They've been gone forever." Lee scooted closer to her on the couch and put his arm around her. Angelina let him. Auden didn't have the energy to even smile. She felt exhausted and scared. Angelina had a point. Harry and George _had _been gone a long time_._

Just then, the portrait hole opened, and Harry and George solemnly joined the rest of them. George stopped next to Katie's chair and she reached up and took his hand.

"Alright, let's hear it," Angelina sighed. "What'd McGonagall do to you?"

"Well, McGonagall was going to only give us detention," George began. "But then Umbridge-,"

"Oh, please, no," Auden groaned, closing her eyes.

"Go on," Ginny said, her face paling.

"She gave us a lifelong ban from playing Quidditch," Harry whispered.

"You too, Fred," George added, miserably looking at his twin.

"What?" gasped Fred.

Auden felt as if she were going to throw up. She couldn't take it anymore. She felt as if Umbridge was slowly trying to prevent her from ever seeing Fred. She already barely got to see him due to her amounts of homework, his amounts of homework, and his work on inventions. Now, Umbridge was taking him off the Quidditch team, one of the two things they got to do together. Plus, it just wasn't fair.

"Fred didn't even do anything!" Angelina cried, outraged.

"It's not my fault I didn't. I probably would have if you and Auden didn't hold me back," Fred said.

There was silence once again before Angelina announced she was going to bed.

"So am I," Fred said, anger still evident in his tone. He gently pushed Auden off his lap and went up to his dorm, George at his heels. He hadn't even said goodnight to her, hugged her, or even kissed her. She knew he was angry and she felt terrible. Right now, she hated Malfoy and she hated Umbridge.

Suddenly, an idea hit her. She didn't care about getting in trouble anymore. All she wanted to do was prank Umbridge worse than she had ever been pranked before. It was time to forget about getting in trouble and time to think about pranking. It seemed that every time she turned around, Umbridge was causing somebody pain.

Just then, Ron came into the common room, looking miserable. Once Hermione had told him the story of what had happened, he was horrified, and even more upset than he had been earlier.

"I feel lousy," he said.

"You and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team," Auden told him.

"Well, if it helps," Hermione said from the window, "Hagrid's back."

Visiting Hagrid that night only lifted their spirits a little bit. He had been away from the school up until now and while they were excited to see him, when they saw the looks of him, the four of them were appalled.

"What happened to your face, Hagrid?" Auden gasped as Hagrid answered the door.

"Well, nice ter see you four too," he answered sarcastically.

Hagrid's face was bruised, dirty, and covered with dried blood. After much persuasion, he told them the story of how Dumbledore had sent him and Madam Maxime to the mountains in order to try and keep the giants on their side.

When he finished, Hagrid ushered them away from his hut and back to the castle so they wouldn't get caught, which was a smart idea, because the last person Auden wanted to see was Umbridge.

* * *

The last DA meeting before the holidays was held two days before Christmas Eve. Auden and the Weasleys were planning on going back to their own houses then and spending the holidays together. Harry and Hermione were going to stay at the Weasleys as well.

Once everyone had arrived at the meeting, Harry managed to get everyone to quiet down. Auden was sitting snuggled against Fred, in the same position they had been sitting in at the first meeting.

"I thought today we could just practice and review what we have already learned," Harry said. "There's really no point in starting anything new seeing as it's the last meeting before the holidays."

"We're not learning anything new?" Zacharias asked. "If I had known that then I wouldn't have come!"

"We're all really sorry Harry didn't tell you, then," Fred said loudly.

Auden giggled. Fred had returned to his normal self by the day after he had been given the Quidditch ban and Auden was glad. He was still upset about not being able to play Quidditch, but at least he was smiling again.

"Let's split up into pairs," Harry said.

As Fred and Auden positioned themselves in their usual spot, Auden decided to tell Fred her idea about pranking Umbridge.

"You know," she began as they stood facing each other. "I've been thinking."

"Oh, have you now?" Fred asked, disarming her perfectly and catching her wand. He tossed it back to her. "About me, I hope."

"Naturally," Auden replied, grinning. "But really, remember when I said I didn't want you to prank Umbridge?" She disarmed Fred and gracefully caught his wand in her hand before throwing it back.

"Yeah," Fred answered, looking hopeful.

"I've changed my mind. Slipping Nosebleed Nougats into her tea sounds like an excellent idea right now."

"Excellent, I knew you'd come around," Fred answered, grinning. He winked at Auden before calling George over to tell him the plan.

The meeting ended with Harry congratulating everyone and promising to teach them the Patronus Charm when the holidays were over. As everyone filed out of the door, Auden saw Harry's eyes find Cho, who was lingering over by a mirror containing newspaper clippings.

Fred and George were trying to talk to Harry about their Nosebleed Nougat prank, but Auden grabbed both of their arms and pulled. "Go talk to her," she hissed at Harry as she dragged the twins away.

"So, how are we going to do this?" she asked. "And most importantly, when?"

Fred and George looked at each other, smirks on their faces.

"Uh-oh, what?" Auden asked.

"How about tonight?" Fred suggested. "I've heard that Umbridge is still in her office around this time, having one last cup of tea before she goes to bed."

Auden stared, blinking before grinning. "Fine, tonight it is."

George pulled a small object from his pocket. "This is a Decoy Detonator," he explained. "Fred and I just invented them last week."

Auden took the object from George. "Let me guess, you want me to drop this outside of the toad's office and then hide while you sneak in and put the Nosebleed Nougat in her tea."

"We've trained you well," Fred grinned, pulling her into a hug. "Now, let's get moving.

Once outside the office, Fred and George hid behind a nearby statue while Auden positioned herself in front of the door. She dropped the Decoy Detonator and ran the other way to hide with Fred and George. The decoy let off an explosion and a moment later, Umbridge appeared in the office doorway, looking frazzled. The decoy had scurried around a corner and was omitting puffs of smoke, so Umbridge hurried in that direction.

"Go, go, go," Auden hissed as Fred and George raced into the office. They returned a minute later, laughing silently.

"Now, we wait," hissed Fred.

Moments later, Umbridge returned to her office looking upset. Her eyes swept the hallway once before she shut her office door.

"Any second now," Fred hissed.

"Three…two…one," George counted down. Sure enough, the office door was flung open, and Umbridge emerged, her hands holding her nose, but doing nothing to stop the blood flow, which was trickling down to her chin and onto the floor. She was making panicked whimpers as she rushed in the direction of the hospital wing, nearly tripping over her own feet a few times.

"Brilliant, bloody brilliant," Fred said, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes as George and Auden high fived.

They made their way back to the common room and they had no sooner entered the room when Ron came down the dormitory stairs leading a pale and sweaty Harry by the arm.

"What's going on?" asked Auden.

Before Ron could answer, Professor McGonagall ran down the girls stairs with Ginny on her tail.

"Ah, you two, you're here, good," she said, pointing at Fred and George. "You'd better come with me. I suppose you should come too, Miss Parker," she added as Auden shared a look with Fred.

Professor McGonagall led the way down the hallway, her face stony.

"What's going on?" Fred asked Ron.

"You're scaring me," Auden added.

"Harry had a dream. He's convinced it's real. It was about dad," Ron said jerkily.

Fred, George, and Ginny's faces instantly paled, as did Auden's. "What happened?" she squeaked, almost afraid to ask.

"He says dad was attacked by a snake," Ron whispered.

They had reached Dumbledore's office by now and Dumbledore let them in immediately, and forced Harry to recount the dream he just had. Then, Dumbledore sent one of the men in a portrait above his desk to Grimmauld Place.

"Tell Sirius that Arthur Weasley's children as well as Harry Potter and Auden Parker will be joining him tonight," Dumbledore said before the man in the painting disappeared.

Dumbledore then pointed to an object on his desk. "I've arranged a portkey to take you all to Grimmauld Place," he announced. "You will wait there with Sirius. Molly has been notified as well."

"So it's true?" Fred asked Dumbledore. "Our dad's been attacked?"

Dumbledore nodded. "He's being brought to St. Mungo's as we speak. Now, please, grab the portkey."

The six kids each placed a finger on the portkey. Dumbledore counted to three, and they were whisked away to Grimmauld Place. _So much for a peaceful Christmas,_ Auden thought as she felt her feet connect with solid ground.

"What's happened?" Sirius asked, helping Ginny to her feet.

"Ask Harry," Fred said. "He has all the answers."

Harry had to recount his dream once again to Sirius. Auden found herself listening to the story for the second time in a few minutes, and it was even worse this time around. She couldn't believe something like this had happened, but at the same time, what if Harry hadn't had the dream? Things probably would have been so much worse.

"Is our mum here?" Fred asked.

"What about mine?" Auden added.

"No, neither of them are here," Sirius shook his head.

"We need to get to St. Mungo's," Ginny said.

"Hold on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!" Sirius answered, holding up his hands.

"Of course we can!" Fred yelled. "He's our dad!"'

"Fred," Auden whispered, taking his hand.

"_Don't_ tell me to calm down, Aud," Fred hissed, turning to her. "Don't do it."

"I wasn't," she said quietly. "But I actually think Sirius is right. You can't go to St. Mungo's just yet."

"Why not?" Fred asked, laughing in disbelief.

"Because Dumbledore's barely had time to tell your mother what's going on. We found out about your dad because Harry dreamt about it. How weird would it be if we went there when there wasn't enough time for us to find out properly? It wouldn't make much sense and it would only lead to questions."

"She's right," Sirius said. "That's exactly what I was thinking, to be honest."

Fred bit his lip, but didn't say anything. George, Ginny, Ron and Harry all flopped down into seats at the table.

"Fred," Auden began quietly, "I'm sorry...I just-"

"No, don't apologize," Fred sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "I didn't mean to snap at you. It's just-it's my _dad_," he whispered.

"I know," Auden replied gently, moving to stand in front of him and gently tilting his head up so that his eyes met hers. "I'm just as scared as you are. Trust me."

Fred swallowed and nodded before giving Auden's forehead a quick kiss.

"Why don't you two sit down and I'll get everyone a butterbeer," Sirius suggested.

Auden and Fred did as Sirius told them while he summoned the drinks. Auden took hers before pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them. She slowly spun her butterbeer bottle in her hands. She actually wasn't in the mood to drink it, but it gave her something to do with her hands.

A few minutes later, a note from Mrs. Weasley arrived, saying that Mr. Weasley was still alive and that she was at the hospital with Auden's parents sorting it all out.

"Still alive…" George said slowly. "That makes it sound like he's somewhere in the middle between living and dying."

Nobody responded. The fear and anxiety in the room was almost tangible. Another hour passed before Fred spoke.

"You should go to bed," he whispered, glancing at Auden.

"No, I'm not leaving you," she whispered back, taking his hand. He wasn't alone in this. They all cared about Mr. Weasley. Fred's lip trembled and Auden saw tears cascading slowly down his cheeks. Nobody else seemed to really notice or care. They were all lost in their own thoughts.

Auden leaned her head on Fred's arm as tears filled her own eyes. Mr. Weasley was like a second father to her. He couldn't die, he just couldn't.

* * *

**A/N: ****The title is from the first line of the song **_**Keep Holding On**_** by Avril Lavigne. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Chapter 9: The Only One Dancing With You

It wasn't until five in the morning that Auden's parents and Mrs. Weasley returned to Grimmauld Place. Fred had fallen asleep on Auden's shoulder. Auden had been sleeping on and off for the past five hours and when Mrs. Weasley arrived, she found herself jerking awake while Fred continued to sleep.

"Don't wake him just yet, dear," Mrs. Weasley whispered. "You can tell him the news when he wakes up."

"What's going on?" Ron asked at once. "How's dad?"

"He's alive and he's going to be just fine," Mrs. Weasley responded as Auden's parents hung up their coats.

There was a sigh of relief among everyone in the room.

"We can go visit him on Christmas day," Auden's mother said, looking at the tired eyes staring up at her. "But for now, I think everyone should get some sleep."

"I agree," Mrs. Weasley said. "Everyone upstairs…now."

"Want me to get him?" George asked Auden, gesturing to Fred sleeping against her shoulder.

"Sure," she whispered, reaching over and pushing Fred's hair out of his eyes before George levitated his twin up off of her.

Auden slowly walked to the room she had shared with Hermione and Ginny over the summer. Ginny walked in behind her and immediately flopped on her bed without a word. Auden pulled down the covers on her own bed before climbing in and pulling the covers back up to her chin. Within seconds, she was asleep.

* * *

Fred woke up at eleven. At first, he was confused. He was in the bedroom he had shared with George over the summer, not in the kitchen where he last remembered being. He looked over at George's bed and found him snoring, still sound asleep.

_Mum must be back by now,_ he thought. He threw himself out of bed, determined to figure out what had happened to his father. Fred found his feet leading him down one floor to the room Auden and Ginny were sharing. Once he got there, he slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

Ginny was sleeping on her side, facing the wall away from Fred. She was curled into a ball and Fred could only see her head sticking out from the top of the blankets. He moved his eyes to Auden's bed, and he smiled softly.

Auden was lying on her stomach, her head facing him. The blankets were pulled up to her chin and one arm was lying on the pillow, curved above her head, while the other one rested on the pillow just in front of her face.

He tiptoed over to her bed and sat down on the edge. Now that he was closer, Fred noticed a small section of Auden's hair was resting across her face, just under her nose, making it look like she had a mustache. Fred nearly laughed, but instead he slowly and carefully brushed it away and behind her ear, letting his fingers trail over the back of her ear for just a moment.

Auden smiled in her sleep and Fred found himself smiling as well. He wondered what she was dreaming about. He didn't want to wake her, but at the same time he wanted to know about his dad and he didn't want to hear the news from anyone but Auden. He decided he could wait a little while longer, though. She just looked so content.

He continued to softly stoke Auden's hair for a few more minutes, before she rolled over onto her back and slowly opened her eyes. "Fred?" she asked sleepily.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up," he whispered.

"It's okay," she smiled. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah I did, but I wanted to know about-,"

"Oh my gosh, that's right, you don't know!" Auden said, sitting up suddenly.

"Woah, relax, you're going to give yourself whiplash," Fred smiled.

Auden smiled. "Your dad's fine. We're going to visit him tomorrow."

Fred felt like a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He leaned forward and wrapped his arms around Auden. She lightly rubbed his back and buried her face in his neck.

"Thank you," he said, finally letting her go.

"For what?" she asked.

"For just being here. I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been here last night."

"It's nothing," she answered. "I wouldn't dream of being anywhere else. I wanted to be here for you and besides, your dad's practically family to me. I care about him too."

"I know you do," Fred smiled, tracing his finger down her jaw. He noticed her shiver slightly and he smiled.

"You know what I think we should do?" Auden said, an excited gleam growing in her eyes.

"What?" Fred asked.

"We should cook lunch for everyone. Our parents got in so late last night and your mother especially must be exhausted. We could surprise them and have the food ready for when they wake up!"

Fred grinned at her. "I'm not much of a cook, but I guess I can give it a go."

"Don't worry, I'll help you. Now, go get ready and meet me in the kitchen in twenty minutes."

"Whatever you say," Fred replied in a business like tone as he stood up to leave. At the doorway, he turned around and glanced back at Auden. She was grinning and humming to herself as she picked out an outfit. Fred smiled absently as he watched. The good mood was infectious.

"You're wasting time," Auden said playfully, noticing he hadn't left the room yet.

"Sorry, sorry!" he said, laughing as he darted back to his room.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Auden was putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. She had decided to make spaghetti and salad. They were both simple enough to make and one of the few things she could cook that Sirius had all the ingredients for.

She looked up at the sound of footsteps to see Fred entering the room, rubbing his eyes and yawning slightly.

"Oh, good, you're finally here," Auden said, handing him the box of spaghetti before walking back to the pantry for more ingredients.

"What am I doing with this?" Fred asked, confused.

"When the water starts boiling, pour it into the pot," Auden called from the pantry.

"Boiling?" Fred said, pretending to be confused.

Auden stuck her head out of the pantry. "When it starts bubbling really fast," she said.

Fred laughed. "I was just kidding. I know what boiling means, believe it or not."

Auden rolled her eyes before disappearing into the pantry again.

"You know, I never knew you could cook," Fred said, as he stood at the stove waiting for the water to boil.

"I guess I'm just full of surprises," Auden said, coming to stand next to him. "But really, I only know a few basic things. Spaghetti's actually pretty easy. I want to learn how to make other things, but I haven't gotten that far yet. " She began making the salad, completely aware of the fact that Fred was staring at her intently. "The water's boiling," she told him, glancing at the pot from where she was standing.

"Oh, right, sorry," Fred turned toward the pot quickly and dumped the spaghetti in it.

"Now stir it," Auden prompted, smiling at him.

"I don't have a—oh," Fred smiled sheepishly as Auden held up a spoon. She laughed and threw a piece of lettuce at him.

"Watch it or I'll squirt you with the faucet," Fred warned.

"You wouldn't!" Auden cried, widening her eyes.

"Try me," Fred answered, grabbing the faucet and placing his finger under it so that if he turned it on, the water would go everywhere.

"Don't you dare," Auden said, backing away as Fred slowly moved the handle on the faucet. He just smirked at her.

"What are you two doing?" asked Sirius coming into the kitchen. Fred jumped away from the faucet and went back to the task of stirring the spaghetti.

"We were cooking for everyone," Auden said to Sirius. "We thought it would be a nice surprise."

"Seems to me like you were about to have a water fight," Sirius smirked.

Auden blushed. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sirius told her. "I was the same way when I was your age. In fact, I remember when I was staying with Harry's dad, we had to wash dishes and James thought it would be funny to dump a whole pot of water on my head."

Fred and Auden both laughed. "What did you do?" Fred asked.

"I wrung a dishrag out over his head. His parents weren't too happy when they found a soaking wet kitchen and two soaking wet kids."

"I don't blame them," Mrs. Parker said, walking into the kitchen. "Keep stirring that spaghetti, Fred."

"Right, I keep forgetting," he said, blushing and turning back to the pot.

"Why are you making spaghetti anyway?" asked Auden's mom.

"It was Auden's idea," Fred answered. "She wanted to surprise you and my mum."

"Are you surprised?" Auden asked.

Mrs. Parker smiled and kissed her daughter's forehead. "Yes, and this was very thoughtful of you."

Mrs. Weasley was thrilled to see that Fred and Auden had cooked for everyone and she seemed equally surprised that Fred hadn't tried to use magic to speed it up.

"Auden was just so excited about it, I thought it wouldn't be fair to use magic," Fred smiled as he placed his hand on Auden's knee under the table. She grinned up at him and placed her hand on top of his.

"You actually did a pretty decent job," she grinned. "I'm proud of you, Freddie."

"I'm proud of me, too," he teased.

Auden snorted and rolled her eyes as Fred leaned over and kissed her cheek.

* * *

Early the next morning, Mad-Eye and Tonks arrived to escort them all to visit Mr. Weasley. They found him on the fifth floor of St. Mungo's in the animal related injury ward.

"Hello, everyone!" he called cheerily as they walked in to see him.

"How are you feeling?" Mrs. Weasley asked, taking a seat beside him and rubbing his forehead. "Loads better," Mr. Weasley told her. "I was talking to one of the Healers today and we wanted to try something new to help fix the bite so he fixed me up with stitches!" Mr. Weasley looked ecstatic at this concept.

"Stitches?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes, a kind of Muggle way of healing where they kind of just sew up injuries. It's incredible!"

Mrs. Weasley's face was growing angrier and angrier at the thought of Mr. Weasley experimenting with Muggle remedies.

"I think I'm going to get a cup of tea," Fred said loudly, taking Auden's hand and pulling her away.

"Me too," George added.

Harry, Ron, and Ginny followed them out of the ward and into the hallway.

"Glad we got out of there before mum started yelling at him," Ron said.

A few hours later, it was time to leave. Mr. Weasley looked rather sad as he watched them go. Auden could only imagine what it would be like to be stuck in a hospital on Christmas. She felt even worse considering that on their way to get tea, they found out that Neville's parents were in the permanent spell damage ward. None of them had known that they were here until today. Except for Harry, apparently, but he claimed to have been sworn to secrecy.

When they arrived back at Grimmauld Place, they found that Sirius had spent the day decorating for the holidays and was in an exceptionally good mood to have guests over for Christmas.

Hermione arrived at Grimmauld Place that afternoon and Lupin, Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye joined them for dinner that night. After dinner, they sat in the living room and Mrs. Weasley insisted on listening to Celestina Warbeck's Christmas broadcast.

"Isn't she just a lovely singer?" Mrs. Weasley asked, beaming around at all of them.

Everyone nodded, smiling, only to keep Mrs. Weasley happy. Personally, Auden thought that Celestina sounded like a screeching cat and she didn't doubt that everyone else thought so too, but they didn't want to say anything to Mrs. Weasley.

"So," Fred said, halfway through Celestina's broadcast.

Auden looked up at him. She was sitting across his lap with her forhead resting snugly against the side of his neck. Fred's arms were both around her, pulling her comfortably to his chest. "So what?" she asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you had a good night last night. I know it wasn't ideal under the circumstances, but I tried to make it special."

Auden smiled. "Fred, I already told you that last night was perfect."

The night before-Christmas Eve-had been Auden and Fred's one year anniversary. In the last minute rush to go to Grimmauld Place, Fred and Auden had both forgotten each other's presents at school. Fred had also been planning to bring Auden back up to the tower he had brought her to earlier in the year, but now that they were at Grimmauld Place, that plan had completely fallen through. Instead, after everyone had gone to bed, Fred had snuck into Auden's room and led her back to the kitchen. On the table were two lit candles and two chocolate cupcakes. He had even caused some mistletoe to eventually appear above their heads, leading to a few jokes about Nargles and one romantic kiss. Auden had loved every bit of it, even if Mrs. Weasley had been the one to do the baking.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Fred whispered.

"I'm just glad we got to spend last night together," Auden said, gazing up at him.

"One whole year," Fred sighed. "I can't even believe it."

"Neither can I, but I've enjoyed every minute of it," Auden told him, leaning up to kiss his cheek. When she pulled away, Fred turned his head and gently kissed her on the lips, causing her to smile as she kissed him right back.

The rest of the holidays passed by quickly. Mr. Weasley was released from the hospital on the last day of the break. His arm was still bandaged but he would be able to remove them for good in a few days.

For once in her life, Auden was not looking forward to going back to school. She didn't want to see Umbridge ever again, but she was going to be there waiting for them with her stupid pink outfits and high pitched laugh.

Quidditch practices started up again once school started. They weren't the same without Fred and George joking around anymore. Angelina had managed to find replacements for Fred, George, and Harry, but they replacements were nowhere near as good as the original members had been.

"How was practice?" Fred asked Auden as she plopped on the couch next to him one night towards the end of January.

"Cold," Auden said. It had snowed the day before but Angelina had insisted that today's practice go on as planned.

"You're shivering," Fred observed, his tone concerned.

"Yes, that's typically what happens when people go outside in below freezing temperatures," Auden replied with a smile as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Come here," Fred said, pulling her onto his lap and quickly rubbing his hands up and down her arms to try and keep her warm. "Honestly, it was stupid for Angelina to hold practice in the snow."

"Yeah, but it's still going to be cold for a while, snow or no snow," Auden said. "And we have to practice. You know how it is just as much as I do."

"Yeah, but still," Fred sighed. "Someone's going to get sick and that won't do the team any good either."

"True," Auden agreed, snuggling into Fred even more and trying to stop her slightly chattering teeth.

The following night was the first DA meeting after the holidays. Harry stuck to his word and began teaching them how to cast a Patronus Charm.

"Think of a happy memory. The happiest you have. Allow it to fill you up," he instructed.

At first, the room was filled with wisps of smoke coming from people's wands, but then a horse erupted from Ginny's wand and galloped around the room before disappearing.

"Fantastic, Ginny!" Harry yelled gleefully.

Auden closed her eyes and tried to think of the happiest she ever felt. She had a lot of happy memories but she wanted to pick the one that would be the most powerful. Finally, she settled on the Yule Ball when Fred had first kissed her.

She opened her eyes and concentrated on the memory. "Expecto Patronum!" A shimmering mist flew from her wand and took the form of a chimpanzee. The chimp happily ran around her. It even made chimpanzee sounds, causing Auden to laugh.

"How did you do that?" Fred and George asked together as the chimp disappeared. Formless mist was still coming out of their wands.

"Just concentrate really hard on the memory," she said as she watched a rabbit appear from Luna's wand, an otter from Hermione's, and a dog from Ron's. It was interesting to see all of the different Patronuses.

She instructed Fred and George to close their eyes. When they did, she told them to think of their happiest memory and concentrate on that memory only before saying the spell.

"Expecto Patronum!" the twins yelled simultaneously and their faces lit up with joy as foxes appeared before them and ran swiftly towards the other end of the room before fading away.

The room was filled with people laughing and expressing their joy at being able to produce a Patronus, but the cheerful atmosphere quickly changed once they heard a huge bang that shook the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Everyone in the room froze and the last wisp of mist faded away as another bang shook the entire room. One of the mirrors covering a wall shattered. The pieces fell to the floor, revealing a small hole.

The members of the DA assembled behind Harry, who was inching closer to the hole in the wall. Fred pulled Auden behind him and shielded her protectively, holding his wand out in front of him.

The voice that spoke from the other side of the wall was the last voice that Auden wanted to hear: Umbridge. Before anyone had the chance to move, she had blasted the wall apart. Fred protectively shielded Auden from the flying stones and bricks. The rest of the DA was running for cover as well, but there was nowhere to hide.

When the smoke cleared, Auden could see Umbridge clearly. She was standing defiantly in the newly created hole, her wand held up in the air. Behind her stood Filch, and a few Slytherins, including Malfoy, who had grabbed Harry by the collar of his robes.

"Everyone who is standing in this room right now will receive a detention for tomorrow night at eight in the great hall," Umbridge said in her cheery voice. "You have broken the rules and you will all receive punishment for it. Especially, Mr. Potter." Then, she walked away, followed by the little posse she had brought with her.

"Who do you think told her about the DA?" Katie asked on the way back to the common room.

"We'll find out soon enough," Hermione said. "I jinxed the signup sheet, remember?"

"What will have happened to the person who told her?" asked Auden.

"Well, actually, their face will be covered in boils that spell out the word 'sneak.'"

"You're brilliant, Hermione, really you are," Ron said in amazement.

"Thanks, Ron," Hermione answered, blushing faintly.

The next morning at breakfast, the whole DA knew who had betrayed them. It was Cho's friend, Marietta. She had taken to trying to hide her face with her collar, but it didn't do any good.

"I always knew she was no good," Fred said as he and Auden watched Marietta leave the great hall.

To add to Marietta's misery, Cho was no longer speaking to her.

"The DA was the one thing that I've looked forward to since that old hag started taking over, and Marietta ruined it," Cho told Auden.

As for Harry, Dumbledore had come to his defense by saying it was he who had initiated the army. The Minister believed him and sentenced him to some time in Azkaban, but Dumbledore had escaped and was now apparently on the run. Harry amazingly only got off with a detention like the rest of the DA. The downside of this was that Umbridge had been appointed the new headmistress of Hogwarts.

That night, the DA assembled in the great hall for their detention. The four house tables had been replaced with enough desks for everyone. A piece of paper and a quill sat on every desk. Umbridge was sitting at the front of the room, looking smug.

Auden took a seat next to Fred and Hermione sat on her other side.

"Today, you will be writing 'I must not break rules.' Two hours should be enough time, I think."

Auden glanced at Fred and they managed to smirk at each other. They were writing exactly what Umbridge had told them to write at their first detention with her. The cuts from that detention had just about healed, but now they were reforming on Auden's hand, more noticeable than before.

Two hours later, Umbridge dismissed them. Nobody spoke a word as they disappeared to their common rooms.

"I'll go get the murtlap," Hermione said the instant the Gryffindor's had reached the portrait hole.

"I don't know what I'd do without her," Ron mumbled as he sat on the couch, clutching his hand.

"Admit it, you'd be lost and confused," Auden joked.

"I really would be," Ron nodded.

Hermione suddenly returned with enough bowls of murtlap for all of them and Auden gratefully stuck her bleeding hand into her bowl.

"I just realized that I officially have nothing to look forward to anymore," Fred said suddenly. "I can't play Quidditch, the DA's over, and it's all because of that toad."

He was genuinely upset, and it broke Auden's heart to see him like this. She didn't even know what to say that would comfort him.

"I feel your pain," George said and Harry nodded in agreement.

Nobody felt like talking much that night. Eventually, everyone drifted up to bed until only Fred and Auden were left in the common room.

"On the bright side," Auden said, attempting to lighten the mood, "there's still the Hogsmeade trip on Valentine's day. Do you still want to go together?"

"Of course I do. I wouldn't miss it for the world," Fred answered, smiling faintly, but staring straight ahead like a zombie.

Auden felt like hitting her head against the wall. Umbridge was taking all the joy out of everyone and everything. DA meetings were the only time Auden had actually seen people smiling, but now even those had come to an end.

"Auden, I'm sorry," Fred said. He seemed to have noticed her expression.

"It's not your fault," she whispered. "I just hate seeing you like this."

Fred finally looked at her, right into her eyes. "I want you to know that my behavior has nothing to do with you."

Auden nodded. "I know," she managed to whisper.

The days dragged by and soon it was Valentine's Day. Hermione had told Auden the night before that she had scheduled an interview between Harry and Rita Skeeter that Luna's father would be printing in the Quibbler. The interview was to be done during the Hogsmeade trip that day.

"Hopefully more people will believe you now that they'll know the truth," Auden told Harry at breakfast. Fred hadn't come down yet, and she was beginning to worry.

"Although who knows how many people believe what's written in the Quibbler," Ron said.

"Ron, Luna's really nice," Auden said.

"I know that. Really, she's grown on me. But still, do _you _believe there are Crumple Horned…things flying around everywhere waiting to be found?"

"Well, no," Auden said.

"Exactly," Ron replied. "Anyway, where's Fred?"

"I don't know," Auden said in frustration. "He told me last night to meet him at breakfast but he's not here yet."

"There he is," Harry said, pointing to the doorway.

Auden whirled around and sure enough, Fred was frantically running towards her. Auden found herself grinning widely. Fred looked happier today then he had in a while. She jumped up from the bench and ran towards him, throwing herself against him in a hug.

"Happy Valentine's day," he whispered.

"Happy Valentine's day," she whispered back. "Where were you?"

"I was in the Owlery. I had ordered a package and it came a little late."

"Oh, and what might this package be?" Auden asked, grinning.

"Ah, that's for me to know and you to find out later," he answered, tapping her nose. "Are you ready to go?"

"Of course," she answered. She turned around and wished Harry good luck on his interview before being dragged away by Fred. "Where are you taking me?" she asked. He had refused to tell her anything beforehand.

"You'll see," he answered. He dragged her past all the Hogsmeade shops, past Honeyduke's, past the Three Broomsticks, and past Madam Puddifoots. They finally stopped at the very end of the village street.

"I don't get it," Auden said, looking up at Fred.

"We have to Disapparate to get there," Fred told her. "Take my arm."

Auden took his arm and squeezed her eyes shut as she felt that familiar squishing sensation. Seconds later, it was all over and she opened her eyes. She was met with a sight that almost knocked her over backwards in shock.

They were in Diagon Alley, standing in front of a tall building that was painted with bright colors. A giant sign on the outside read "Weasley's Wizard Wheezes."

"You did it! You got the place you wanted!" Auden yelled. The last time they had discussed the joke shop the twins hadn't been sure whether or not they were going to buy this place or not.

"Yeah," Fred nodded happily. "George and I can move in anytime. Right now the plans are to move in this summer."

Auden was excited for them, but then the thought came to mind that Fred and George would no longer be living right next door to her and it made her just a little bit sad.

"Promise I can visit you whenever I want?" she asked.

"Of course…you can even live with us if you want to."

"My mother wouldn't like that idea very much," Auden responded.

"Would you like to see the inside?" Fred asked.

Auden nodded excitedly, so Fred took her hand and led her through the front doors.

"I know it's empty and creepy looking now but picture all of our products lining the shelves in boxes. This place is going to be colorful too. Lots of color." Fred was so excited that Auden couldn't help but be incredibly excited as well. This was his and George's dream.

"Can I see the flat?" Auden asked.

"Sure, come on," Fred led her up the stairs in the back of the shop to a very nice flat. It was the perfect size and even though it was empty besides the appliances, Auden could picture the twins' things lying around.

"This way," Fred said, leading her through the living room to the kitchen. When her eyes fell on the table, Auden gasped. It was set for two, complete with plates, a tablecloth and even two candles.

"What's this?" she asked.

"If you don't mind, I thought we could spend the day here. And do you want to know the best part?" Fred asked.

"What?" Auden asked.

"I'm going to cook dinner," Fred answered.

"You are?" Auden was impressed. "The man who kept forgetting to stir the spaghetti?"

"Ah, but I've been practicing," Fred said. "In fact, I will be making you spaghetti today."

"Because of all the fond memories?" Auden asked.

"No, because it's the only recipe I learned," Fred shrugged. "Now, sit down. You aren't allowed to do anything except drink this butterbeer." He handed her one from the fridge.

"So did the fridge come stocked with food?" Auden asked, sitting down at the table as Fred busied himself making the dinner.

"No, I actually asked Dobby if he could bring the food here this morning. He was more than happy to."

"Hermione wouldn't approve of that," Auden smiled.

"Hermione never has to know," Fred answered.

"Are you sure you don't want help?" Auden asked.

"No, none," Fred answered simply.

Fred managed to successfully make the spaghetti without ruining it. After they ate, Auden offered to help with the dishes, but Fred did it with a flick of his wand.

"Easy as pie," he said casually as he stepped forward and stuck his fingers through the belt loops on Auden's jeans, pulling her towards him. He flicked his wand at the radio and it turned on. Amazingly, a slow song was playing.

"May I have this dance?" Fred whispered, offering her his hand.

"Yes, you may," Auden answered and just like that, they were dancing all around the kitchen and Fred was holding her as if he never wanted to let her go.

* * *

**A/N: This chapter is even longer than the last one so hopefully that's not too much of an issue. Usually I like to keep chapters in the 3,000 word range but sometimes they just seem to get a bit longer. **

**Anyway, this chapter's title is from the song**_** Baby Blue Eyes**_** by A Rocket to the Moon. It's one of my favorite songs and it fit with the end of the chapter. **

**Also, I got a question from Weasleygirl31 about whether or not I'm going to have Fred die in this story and I forgot to answer it in the last two chapters. I have an idea about how that whole scene is going to go and I don't want to say too much, but I will tell you that Fred will not die :)**


	10. Chapter 10: Pictures of You

"So, do you want to find out what was in that package now?" Fred asked once the song ended.

"Yes, I do," Auden answered excitedly. "And I have something for you too." She walked over to her bag hanging on the back of her chair and pulled out a box. "Here you go," she said, handing it to Fred.

"And this is for you," Fred told her, handing her a package wrapped in brown paper. "I, uh, didn't have time to wrap it properly."

"It doesn't matter. I don't mind," she answered.

"Go ahead, unwrap it," Fred urged her.

Auden slid her finger under one of the flaps on the package and ripped it open. She opened the box to find a mirror. She looked up at Fred, confused. "Are you trying to hint at something?" she asked.

Fred laughed. "No, I got the idea from Sirius. He gave one to Harry for Christmas and he volunteered to find one for me. Since he can't leave his house, he asked Lupin. It took him a while but he found it and he sent it this morning. I have another mirror just like this one and basically they're charmed so that if you ever want to talk to me all you have to do is look in the mirror and think about me and since I have the other mirror, I'll know and I can talk to you. It works both ways too so I can use it to reach you."

"Wow, that's amazing!" Auden exclaimed. "What a good idea!"

"So you like it?" Fred asked.

"I love it!" Auden exclaimed. She put the box on the table and threw her arms around Fred's neck. He spun her around before placing her back on her feet and picking up his present from the table.

"Hmm, I wonder what it is," he said, shaking it.

"Why don't you open it and see?" Auden smiled.

Fred tore open the box and pulled out two items. One was a scarf in the Gryffindor colors. "I made it myself," Auden said shyly. "Your mum helped me with it. I know it's kind of lumpy in some spots, but I tried really hard and I didn't have time to start over and-,"

"Aud, it's wonderful," Fred told her, wrapping her in a hug before letting go and picking up the next object.

It was a large square book made out of black leather. The front had a space for a picture and Auden had put one in there from when she was four and Fred was six. In the picture, Auden was sitting on the floor next to Fred, who was eating from a plate with a small amount of Every Flavor Beans on it. The moving picture showed Fred looking the other way for a second and Auden taking a handful of the Every Flavor Beans without him knowing.

"So that's where half of those beans went!" Fred exclaimed. "You were smart for a four year old."

Auden took a bow. "Thank you…now open the book."

Fred did as she said and opened it to the first page to discover it was a scrapbook. Fred slowly sat down in his chair without moving his eyes from the page. He began to flip through the book taking a few minutes to look at each page.

"I did it in order so the first few pages are all baby pictures and they go up until this past Christmas," Auden explained. "See, there's even a ticket from the Quidditch World Cup, and George even let me take one of the leftover Ton Tongue Toffees so I could put it in here."

"This is amazing. How long did it take you to do this?" Fred asked.

"Well, I started it right after we got back from Christmas break and I did it little by little. My parents and your parents were more than happy to help get me the pictures and some things I had kept like the ticket to the World Cup."

"It's amazing," Fred said again. He closed the book and stood up to hug Auden. "This is the best gift ever," he whispered against her ear.

Auden smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm glad you like it."

Fred leaned in and kissed her slowly, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. Auden smiled as they kissed and let out a small happy sigh as they broke apart. She hugged Fred tightly and they just stood there in silence, enjoying the time they could spend together without anyone breathing down their necks.

"We should get back to school," Fred whispered after a moment.

"Ugh, I don't want to," Auden groaned.

"Neither do I, but we have to go," Fred answered.

They collected all of their things and joined hands. Fred Apparated back to a spot just outside the Hogwarts gates and they walked back inside the castle together.

"If I remember correctly, someone has a birthday coming up soon," Fred said as they walked.

"I wonder who that person could be," Auden teased.

Fred laughed. "Is there anything you might want?"

Auden thought for a minute before shaking her head. "No, I just want you to be there."

"I think that can be arranged," Fred smiled as they reached the common room.

"Are you sure? Because it's such a big request, having my boyfriend around on my birthday," Auden played along.

"He'll be around. Something tells me he wouldn't miss it for the world," Fred said in a whisper, pulling Auden closer to him and kissing her softly.

"Get a room," yelled a teasing voice. Auden and Fred looked up to see Lee and George sitting at a corner table. Fred took Auden's hand they went over to join them.

"What are you guys up to?" Auden asked.

"We're planning," George said mischievously.

"Planning what?" Auden asked him.

"Does this have to do with what we talked about last night?" Fred asked, his eyes gleaming.

"What were you talking about last night?" Auden looked at Fred now.

"Yes, it does have to do with that," George said in response to Fred's question.

"Excellent," Fred grinned, leaning forward.

"Lee, will you tell me what's going on?" Auden asked.

Lee laughed. "It's up to Fred and George."

"I want to know too," Auden said, making a sad face.

Fred laughed. "We were going to let you in on it eventually, but we wanted to torture you first."

"Jerk," Auden mumbled.

"Anyway, we're going to prank Umbridge again. It's going to be a lot better than the Nosebleed Nougat thing," George explained. "Lee and I came up with a brilliant idea, and actually, Fred, you were the one who planted it in my head."

"I did?" Fred asked.

"Yeah, I just got the idea about an hour ago, on the way back from my Hogsmeade date with Katie and ever since then I've been patiently waiting here for you. Anyway, last night when you said you wished you could set fire to all of her kitten plates is what gave me the idea."

"Are we going to do that?" Fred asked in excitement. "Burn all of her precious little kittens?"

"Not exactly," Lee added. "George, would you like to do the honors of explaining?"

"Yes, thank you Lee. Fred, do you remember all those Filibuster fireworks that we were going to start selling in our shop?"

"Yeah…?" Fred answered slowly.

"Okay, here's the idea. We set them off in the middle of the day and Umbridge won't know how to get rid of them. If you try to Vanish them, they multiply by ten. Basically any spell you try makes them duplicate or multiply. She'll go crazy trying to get rid of them," George said.

"That's brilliant!" Fred explained.

"And I doubt the other teachers will even care. They all hate Umbridge as much as we do," Auden added.

"Exactly," Lee said.

"When are you going to do this?" Auden asked.

"Wait, hold on, I have an idea," Fred said suddenly. He jumped up, raced over to George and whispered something. George nodded and then leaned over to whisper to Lee.

Auden raised one eyebrow at them.

"Sorry, Auden, the date is confidential," Fred smirked.

"Why?" she asked slowly.

"Just trust us," George said, smiling.

Auden shifted her eyes from George, to Fred, to Lee. They were all grinning at her. "Fine," she said, "but if you guys are trying to make sure I miss the show, then I hate you all."

"We would never want you to miss it," Fred said.

"Good," Auden answered before standing up. "I'm going to bed, so I'll see you all in the morning."

"Goodnight," George and Lee said.

Auden walked up to Fred and wrapped her arms around him. She noticed George and Lee staring at them. "Can we help you?" she joked.

"Oh, no, proceed with what you were doing," George said. "Lee and I will kindly look the other way."

Auden rolled her eyes before turning back to Fred. "Goodnight," she said quietly, leaning up to kiss him softly.

"Goodnight," Fred whispered she pulled away and walked up to the girls dorm.

The rest of February went by rather slowly. Auden kept trying to get Fred and George to tell her what was going on, but neither of them would tell her. All three of them were avoiding Umbridge as much as possible.

Ron's birthday arrived on March 1st. "Happy Birthday, Ron!" Auden yelled, as she ran into the common room with his gift.

"Thanks, Auden," Ron said with a smile. "Guess what?"

"What?" she asked, handing him the gift.

"I'm two days older than you," Ron said. He never missed a chance to remind Auden that he was older.

"You'll be wishing you weren't older when we're eighty," Auden retaliated. "Open your present."

Ron tore open the paper and took out a box of Chocolate Frogs and a new Chudley Canons poster for his room.

"Wow, thanks, Aud," Ron said, giving her a hug.

"You're welcome. How's your homework coming?"

"Terrible. I'm still so behind and Hermione refuses to let Harry and I copy off of her. Do you think you could-,"

"I won't let you copy, but I'll be glad to help you finish all of this." Auden looked at the pile of papers spread out on the table. Then, her eyes moved to Harry, who had fallen asleep in his armchair, his head in his lap on top of his Potions book.

"Looks like Harry's found a good use for his Potion's book," Fred said, coming through the portrait hole with George. "Oh, look, George, Chocolate Frogs." He reached down and took one.

"Hey!" Ron objected.

"Sharing is caring, little brother," Fred smiled.

"Yeah, but unless you ask, it's like stealing," Ron argued.

"Okay, enough of this," Auden said. "Ron, sit down. We're going to do the homework due tomorrow first and then move on from there instead of working all over the place like you seem to be doing." She eyed the scattered papers again.

"Seems like Prefect Ron is a little behind on his homework," George said.

"Shut up," Ron mumbled, taking out his Potions essay that was due the next day as George left to go sit with Katie.

"Why don't you help me with my homework?" Fred asked, sitting down next to Auden and sliding his arm around her.

"You're perfectly capable of doing your own work," Auden replied, shuffling through Ron's papers.

"And I'm not?" Ron asked, smiling slightly.

Auden sighed. She knew they were trying to back her into a corner and getting a laugh out of it. It must have been a Weasley thing. "Your problem, Ron, is that you procrastinate too much, then struggle to get it all done, panicking as you do it. Fred doesn't panic."

"It isn't a good look for me," Fred said, removing his arm from Auden's waist as he stretched and let out a yawn.

Auden smiled slightly before turning back to Ron. "Anyway, let me read what you have done on your Potions essay and you start finishing that moon chart for Astronomy."

Ron picked up his Astronomy chart and began filling things in as Auden began reading the Potions essay. She had only gotten through one sentence when she felt Fred nuzzling his face into her neck.

"What are you doing?" she laughed.

"Distracting you," he replied. "Is it working?"

"Yes," she answered, hitting him lightly over the head with the quill she had been twirling in her fingers.

Almost two hours later, Auden had caught Ron up on most of his homework. Auden looked over at Fred. He had fallen asleep with his head leaning backwards over the couch and his right hand still lightly touching Auden's back.

She snuggled against him before reaching up and tugging gently on a section of his hair. Fred jerked awake as if someone had just lost a game of Exploding Snap right next to his ear. Auden giggled and saw Fred's face relax when he saw her lying against him.

"Glad you've finally turned your attention to me now," he joked.

"Oh, so that's what you wanted, some attention," Auden said, resting her hand on Fred's chest. She had guessed that attention had been the issue and now she knew that she had been right.

"Yes, but now you're all mine for the rest of the night," Fred answered happily.

"Tell me when you're doing the fireworks," Auden said suddenly. She was trying to ask at random times to catch Fred off guard so he would answer. He was too smart for that, though.

"Not telling. Not until the time comes."

"You are so infuriating," Auden joked.

"It's one of the many reasons why you love me, right?" Fred asked, kissing the top of her head.

"I suppose it is," Auden answered, grinning up at him.

When Auden woke up on her birthday, she immediately threw open the curtains covering the window to check the weather. It was sunny. Every year, Auden hoped for sun on her birthday. It instantly put her in a great mood.

"Turn off the brightness," Lavender grumbled from her bed, putting her pillow over her face.

"It's about time you woke up. You're going to be late for class," Parvati said to her friend from the mirror where she was fixing her hair. "Happy Birthday, Auden," she said, glancing at Auden with a smile.

"Thanks, Parvati," Auden answered.

"It's your birthday?" Lavender gasped, sitting up, suddenly wide awake. "Happy Birthday!"

Auden laughed. "Thank you."

Hermione came out of the bathroom just then. "I have your gift right here, Aud." She reached into her nightstand drawer and pulled out a box. "Happy Birthday, I hope you like it."

Auden unwrapped the gift. It was a hair piece in the shape of a flower similar to the one she had worn in her hair at the Yule Ball.

"You looked so pretty with that flower in your hair that night, but since that flower was real, I thought I could get you this fake one so you could wear it whenever you wanted," Hermione explained.

"I love it, Hermione!" Auden exclaimed.

"Also, I charmed it so that it will change colors to match your outfit. Just put it in your hair and it will change to match whatever you're wearing."

"Hermione, you're amazing," Auden smiled, hugging her friend.

Auden dressed quickly before reaching for the flower Hermione had given her. She then realized that her school uniform consisted of mostly grey and black. She hoped the flower wouldn't turn one of those colors, but she put it in her hair anyway. The flower turned red to match the red of the Gryffindor symbol. Auden smiled before rushing down the stairs to the common room.

"Ah, there she is!" Auden heard George yell from the other side of the common room. Auden came to a halt in front of the twins, Lee, Katie, Harry, Ron, and Angelina as they began singing a very off key version of 'Happy Birthday' to her.

Auden laughed as they finished and hugged all of them. "You guys are the best," she said.

After breakfast, Fred told Auden that he had to rush off and meet George somewhere but he made her promise to meet him in front of the common room after her second class and just before lunch.

"I have to show you something," he said.

"Okay, I promise," Auden answered.

"Cool." Fred kissed her quickly and raced away.

Auden spent most of her first two classes wondering what Fred was planning to show her. The suspense was almost killing her as the minutes slowly ticked by.

As soon as the bell rang to signal the end of class, Auden jumped out of her seat and ran as fast as she could to the common room. Fred wasn't there yet, so she leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"You got here fast," Fred's voice said to her right. Auden gasped and turned to see her boyfriend standing next to her.

"When did you get here?" she asked.

"Just now," Fred laughed. "Come on, or we're going to be late."

"Late for what?" Auden asked as Fred took her hand and pulled her down the hallway.

"You'll see," Fred smirked as they ran down the hallways. They finally stopped when they reached the entrance hall, which was slowly emptying as people entered the great hall for lunch.

Fred paused before dragging Auden into a broom closet in the corner of an entrance hall and lit his wand. Auden saw Lee and George crouched in the corner with a few large boxes in front of them.

"What's going on?" Auden asked.

Wordlessly, George opened one of the boxes and Auden peeked inside. It was filled with fireworks.

"So this is why you wouldn't tell me when you were doing this," Auden said, turning to Fred.

"Exactly," Fred nodded. "Part one of your birthday present is to prank Umbridge."

"Part one?" Auden asked. "How many parts are there?"

"Four to be exact," Fred answered.

"Four?" Auden repeated.

"Shh, I think the entrance hall's empty now," George said, listening carefully. There was no noise coming from the other side of the door.

"It's time," Lee said, ripping open the other box.

"Remember to do that certain one last," Fred said to Lee, who nodded.

Auden looked at him, confused, but didn't get a chance to say anything, because George was opening the door a crack.

"Okay," he whispered. "After everyone crowds out of the great hall, we sneak out of the cupboard. Lee will stay here and shoot out the rest of the fireworks."

George took the first firework and tossed it out into the entrance hall, where it exploded with a bang and turned into different shapes as it flew around the entrance hall. Sure enough, the entire school began flooding into the entrance hall to see what the commotion was. Fred, George, and Auden snuck out of the cupboard, unnoticed by anyone else.

Lee was shooting out more fireworks at regular intervals and by the time Umbridge had fought her way through the crowd, there were a good amount of fireworks flying through the air. Umbridge's expression was one of horror. She began to try to get rid of the fireworks but nothing worked. The fireworks either duplicated or multiplied by ten, just like George had said that night in the common room.

"Come this way," Fred whispered into Auden's ear as the entrance hall eventually began to empty except for Umbridge, who was still trying to Vanish the fireworks.

Fred led Auden up the front stairs and around a corner so they were hidden from Umbridge but could still watch her struggle. They sat on the ground and peeked around the corner.

"Here comes the big finale," Fred whispered as another firework exploded in the air and turned into the shape of a dragon. Umbridge tried to run away, but the firework chased her and exploded into multiple fireworks that flew in different directions as it reached her.

"That was amazing!" Auden cried. She was laughing so hard that she was almost crying. Umbridge was covered in soot and shuffling slowly towards the great hall.

"Wait, there's more," Fred said, smiling.

One more firework shot out from the direction of the broom cupboard. It rose high into the air before exploding and becoming words that read 'Happy Birthday' in fancy letters that fell away after a few seconds. Auden's mouth fell open in shock.

"Part two of your birthday present is now complete," Fred whispered from beside her.

Without a word, Auden flung herself at Fred and threw her arms around him, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

"You are absolutely amazing," she whispered as she pushed herself off of him, grinning happily.

Auden's grin was present for the whole rest of the day. The fireworks continued to fly around the school, and during classes, teachers would send for Umbridge so that she could get rid of them. She was getting demands from all over the school and nothing she tried would stop the fireworks. Eventually, they just fizzled out on their own.

"Finally, time for dinner," Auden said as she exited her last class of the day with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "I'm starving."

"I've just remembered, I have to run to the library for something," Hermione blurted out before running up the stairs. Auden noticed Harry and Ron exchange glances.

"And I just realized I left my quill in the classroom," Harry said. "Ron and I will catch up with you later, Aud."

"It takes two of you to go get a quill?" Auden called after them. "What am I supposed to do, eat dinner by myself?" They ignored her. _And they get annoyed when girls go to the bathroom all at once_, she thought, frustrated that her friends had ditched her.

Someone tapped Auden on the shoulder and she turned around. She gasped when she saw Fred standing there, holding a tulip, Auden's favorite flower.

"You won't have to eat by yourself," he said as he handed her the flower. "Are you ready for part three of your birthday present?"

Auden nodded happily as she brought the flower to her nose.

Fred reached into his pocket and pulled out a blindfold. "You'll need to put this on. Turn around and I'll do it for you."

Auden sighed and turned around. She didn't feel like arguing. So far, all of Fred's birthday surprises had been wonderful.

After Fred had tied the blindfold around Auden's eyes, she felt him pick her up bridal style. She hadn't been expecting it so she gasped and threw her arms around his neck.

"Sorry, I should have warned you," he said.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"You'll see," was all Fred said.

Auden could only wonder what kinds of tricks Fred Weasley had up his sleeve this time.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far and added my story to their favorites or story alert and/or added me to their favorite authors or author alert. You guys are awesome! :)**

**The title of this chapter is from **_**Pictures of You **_**by The Last Goodnight.**


	11. Chapter 11: We May Only Have Tonight

"Are we there yet?" Auden asked a few minutes later. It felt like Fred had been carrying her forever.

"Almost," Fred answered.

Auden felt him pause for a second and the arm holding her under her knees shifted. "What are you doing?"

Fred laughed. "Must you know everything I'm doing?"

"Yes," Auden answered.

"Alright, so the next time I use the toilet I should give you a play by play."

"Oh, gross. You know what I meant though. I want to know where you're taking me."

"You'll know soon enough because we're here," Fred said, setting her down. "But don't take off your blindfold yet. Wait until I say so."

"Fine," Auden answered.

A few seconds later, Fred's voice came from a few feet away. "Okay, take off the blindfold."

Immediately, Auden reached up and whipped off the blindfold. She was greeted with the sound of people yelling "Surprise!" before her brain could register anything. Then, it all clicked. She was standing on the tower where Fred had taken her on their date at the beginning of the year. On the ground in front of her sat Fred, George, Lee, Angelina, Katie, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville, and even Cho and Luna.

Auden's hands immediately flew to her mouth. All of her friends were sitting there, grinning up at her. They had taken the time to give her a surprise party and done an excellent job of keeping it a surprise.

"Are you surprised?" Luna asked.

Auden couldn't get any words out so she just nodded.

"She's speechless," George joked.

"Well, I'm glad we don't have to keep the secret anymore," Katie said. "I was afraid I was going to spill the beans any second."

"I had no idea," Auden said, shaking her head.

"Come on, sit down," Fred said, patting a spot next to him. "Look, we even got you a cake."

It was then that Auden noticed the chocolate cake sitting in the middle of everyone with sixteen candles grouped in the middle.

"You didn't have to do this," she said, her voice full of appreciation.

"Yes, we did," Harry said.

Fred waved his wand over the cake and lit the candles. Everyone sang another out of tune version of 'Happy Birthday' while Auden blushed.

"What are you waiting for?" Ron asked. "Blow out the candles!"

"Make a wish," Angelina added.

Auden closed her eyes, took a deep breath and blew out every candle.

"What did you wish for?" Neville asked.

"Don't tell him!" Katie said. "Or else your wish won't come true."

"Yes, it's bad luck to tell people what you wished for," Luna added. "My dad told me that when he was little, he made a wish to find a Crumple Horned Snorkack and it never came true."

Ron snorted, but managed to pass it off as a sneeze. Nobody else knew what to say to Luna, but she didn't seem to mind. She just began playing with her butterbeer cork necklace.

"Time for presents!" Ginny declared after everyone had finished eating their cake.

"Speaking of presents, the flower looks amazing in your hair, Auden," Hermione said, smiling.

"Thank you, I love it," Auden replied.

Auden got her own butterbeer cork necklace from Luna, who assured her it would keep the Nargles away. She also received a small potted plant from Neville, who explained the plant would grow until it was colorful and beautiful, before returning to a small seed and growing back again. Ginny gave her a few novels Auden had wanted to read, along with a new pair of earrings that Ginny had made herself. Ron gave her a pair of Gryffindor gloves and Harry gave her a broomstick maintenance kit similar to the one he owned. Lee presented her with a basket of her favorite candy from Honeydukes, and George gave her a basket of Zonko's merchandise. Cho gave Auden a new quill that wrote in whatever color ink you wanted, Katie gave Auden a beaded bracelet, and Angelina gave her a photo album.

"It's empty except for one picture right now because I thought you'd want to fill it up on your own," she explained.

Auden opened it to see the picture Angelina was talking about. It was one of them from Auden's third year and Angelina's fifth year. They were both making goofy faces at the camera. Auden smiled at Angelina and Angelina smiled back.

"Ah, right on time," Fred announced suddenly, looking into the distance.

"What are you talking about?" Auden asked, but then she saw it. Someone, or something, was flying towards them. It was impossible to tell what it was just yet, as it was so far away.

"It's my birthday present to you," Fred grinned at Auden as the flying thing came closer. "Part four to be exact."

"It's someone riding a broom!" Cho exclaimed, jumping up.

She was right. The broomstick flew over their heads with a whooshing sound and landed just behind them. The person riding the broom got off and all Auden could do was stare. It was her brother.

"Ben!" she laughed as she ran over to him and hugged him. He tightly held onto her for what seemed like ages.

"Happy birthday, little sis," he said, holding her at arm's length. "It's been almost two years. You look the same, but different."

"In a good or bad way?"

"A good way, most definitely," he said with a smile.

"You've gotten so tan!" Auden exclaimed, poking her brothers tan arm.

"It's what working in Romania does to you," he shrugged.

Auden introduced her brother to everyone he didn't know as they sat down on the ground. Then, she looked at Fred. "You did this? You got him here?" she asked.

Fred nodded. "I wrote to him about two and a half weeks ago asking if he could make it here for your birthday and he said he could so we just planned it from there."

Auden smiled warmly at Fred before grabbing onto his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. "Thank you so much," she whispered.

"No problem," Fred whispered back, smiling.

Ben cleared his throat. "Now Auden, I heard from mum and dad that you were dating Fred now, and I wanted to wait until I was here in person to do this, so here goes. Fred, you're like family to me, but if you hurt my sister, I'm sorry to say that I'll have to hurt you."

"You don't have to worry about a thing," Fred answered, picking up Auden's hand and smiling at her. "I'll always take good care of her and would _never_ do anything to hurt her."

Ben nodded before a grin spread over his face. "Charlie actually told me to tell you the same thing. Sort of, anyway. He just said to treat her well or he'd stand there and laugh while I beat you up."

"He'd probably do that anyway," Fred said with a roll of his eyes as George burst out laughing.

Ben nodded as he grinned. "Probably. Anyway, now that I took care of that matter, is there any leftover cake?"

Everyone laughed as Auden passed her brother a piece of cake, a grin spreading over her face.

"I think some music would be appropriate," George said a few minutes later as he pointed his wand at a radio set up in the corner.

Auden saw Harry ask Ginny to dance and she smiled. Things had fizzled out with Harry and Cho around Valentine's Day and Auden had heard both sides of their story many times. She had noticed some awkward tension tonight, but they seemed to be acting rather friendly towards each other.

"Fred, do you mind if I dance with my sister?" Ben asked. "I haven't seen her in a while, and we have a lot to catch up on."

"No, go ahead," Fred answered, removing his arm from around Auden's waist.

Auden stood up and took Ben's hand. "So, tell me about Romania," she said.

"It's great. Really busy, though. I wish I had more time to write."

"It's okay," Auden told him. "I'm just glad I got to see you today."

"I'm glad you and Fred are dating," Ben told her.

"Really?" Auden answered.

"Yeah, I know you wrote to me and told me when you were dating Cedric, but honestly, I always thought you would end up dating Fred."

Auden had winced slightly when her brother had mentioned Cedric. It had been almost a year, but it was still difficult when the memory of Cedric's lifeless body lying on the ground entered Auden's head.

"Cedric was a good guy," Ben said, trying to help the situation.

Auden nodded. "Let's not talk about him right now, though,"

"Okay, I understand," Ben answered, smiling faintly.

"You got burned a lot," Auden said, looking at the burns lining Ben's arms.

"Not as much now since I'm used to all the dragons I work with, but at first, it was awful. Charlie helped me a lot, though."

"How is Charlie?" Auden asked.

"He's great. He told me to wish you a happy birthday," Ben answered.

"That was nice of him. Anyway, how long until you go back?"

"I'm going to visit mum and dad for a few days so I won't go back to Romania until next week."

Auden nodded. "Did you get my letter about Umbridge and her detentions?"

"Yeah, and I noticed the marks on your hand. From what Fred told me, though, you guys have got it all under control."

"You don't disapprove that we pranked her?"

Ben shook his head. "You can't change the Ministry's mind right now about her being here so you might as well prank her."

Auden laughed. "I'm glad you think so." There was a pause. "I've really missed you, you know."

"I've missed you, too," Ben told her. "Sometimes I really hate being in Romania only because I feel like I've missed a lot. I mean, I know you don't like talking about Cedric too much, but I wasn't around when you started dating him. I missed out on trying to intimidate him like a good brother should." He gave her a lopsided grin.

Auden smiled sadly. "Don't worry. In the time we did date, he was very good to me."

"I don't doubt that," Ben said. "And I also don't doubt that Fred will be good to you, too, but I had to intimidate him a little just in case."

"I don't think he was all that intimidated," Auden giggled, glancing at Fred, who was standing a few feet away, talking to George and finishing off a butterbeer. "He's known you for years. But, like he said, you shouldn't worry. He's been great."

"He clearly loves you very much," Ben said.

"And I love him," Auden whispered.

Ben smiled. "I'm glad. I'm glad you're happy."

Suddenly, Fred appeared at their side, as if he had sensed he was being talked about. "May I cut in?" he asked.

Ben smiled and let go of Auden. "She's all yours," he replied. He smiled at his sister before walking away.

"So I think it's safe to say that you were surprised by all of this," Fred grinned as he wrapped his arms around Auden's waist and pulled her close.

"Definitely," Auden answered, putting her arms around his neck. "Would it be copying if I brought Charlie home for your birthday?" she joked.

Fred laughed. "You don't have to get me anything."

"That's what I told you and then you put all this together," Auden argued.

"This was a pretty impressive party if I do say so myself," Fred smiled.

"Don't go getting a big ego on me," she joked.

Fred was silent for a moment. "What did you wish for?"

"You heard Luna, it's bad luck."

"Did you wish for a Crumple Horned Snorkack?" asked Fred, grinning.

"How did you ever guess?" Auden joked. "No, but seriously, I didn't wish for anything."

"Nothing?" Fred asked.

"Nothing," Auden repeated. "I'm happy with my life exactly the way it is. I know that sounds corny but it's true."

Fred smiled and readjusted his hands on her waist, pulling her closer. He slowly leaned in closer until his lips were an inch away from Auden's. Smiling, Auden closed the gap between them and kissed him, moving her hand to the back of Fred's neck as she did so.

When they finally broke apart, Auden heard Ron say "That'll be three galleons." She turned around to see her brother handing the money over to Ron, who blushed when he saw her and Fred looking. "We were betting on when you were planning on coming up for air."

"Really funny, you two," Auden said, rolling her eyes as Fred burst out laughing.

"I should get going, anyway," Ben said. "Mum and dad are expecting me."

"You just got here," Auden protested.

"Yeah, nearly an hour ago," Ben grinned.

"Really?" Auden asked.

"Time flies when you're having fun," Lee called.

"Zip it, Lee," Auden yelled. She noticed he was holding Angelina's hand and tilted her head questioningly. Angelina nodded and Auden grinned.

Ben came over and hugged Auden goodbye. "I'll see you soon," he whispered before turning to Fred and smiling. "Take care of my sister for me."

"Of course," Fred answered.

"Now, mum would probably kill me if I didn't remind you two to behave so I'll remind you to behave. Don't prank Umbridge too much, okay?"

The three of them looked at each other for a second before laughing. "Yeah, right," Fred said.

Ben climbed back on his broom and took off, waving, until he was out of sight. Auden sighed as she stared out at the sky.

"You okay?" Fred whispered, coming up behind her.

"Yeah," she said quietly. "I just miss him when he's gone, you know?"

Fred nodded and pulled her into a hug. "He misses you, too."

"Did he tell you that?" Auden asked, smiling up at Fred.

"Mhm," Fred nodded, brushing Auden's hair off of her face.

"Oi," Ron suddenly yelled from across the tower. "We have to get back. It's almost curfew."

Everyone pitched in to help clean up before going back through the passageway to the castle.

"Thanks for coming, everyone," Auden said as they reached the end of the passageway.

"It was great fun," Luna said happily. "I've never been to a party before, but this one was by far my favorite."

"Oh, good," Auden said, grinning. Luna confused her sometimes, but she knew how to make anyone happy by saying the simplest things.

"So did you have fun?" Fred whispered in her ear as they walked back to Gryffindor tower.

Auden nodded and looked up at him, grinning. "You have no idea how much everything you did means to me."

Fred grinned and kissed her temple. "I'm glad."

* * *

"So it's your birthday tomorrow," Auden reminded Fred as they walked out to sit by the lake one sunny afternoon during their free period about a month later.

"I know," Fred said with a smile, reaching up to loosen his tie. It was warm out and wearing that tie was especially annoying during warm weather.

"I have something special planned, but you can't find out what it is until tomorrow," Auden teased. She leaned against one of the trees by the lake and looked up into Fred's face as she played with the heart necklace he had given her for Christmas the year before.

"I wonder what it could be," Fred smirked. "You really didn't have to plan anything, though."

"I know," Auden said, looking down at the necklace. "But I wanted to."

Fred reached out and tilted her face up towards his. Her brown eyes were shining with happiness and excitement. He leaned in and gently kissed her, moving his hand to her hair. He felt Auden's arms moving around his waist and his heart sped up. Fred began deepening the kiss and he moved even closer to Auden. He was vaguely aware that he was squishing her against the tree but he didn't think she minded that much.

Auden grinned up at him as he pulled away from her. She looked just as breathless as he felt. "I'm sure whatever you have planned will be wonderful," he told her.

"I'm excited for you to find out. You're going to love it," she told him.

"As much as I love you?" Fred said quietly as he began kissing her jaw.

"I'm not sure," she giggled. "How much do you love me?"

"I can't even put it into words," Fred told her, moving his lips downwards to kiss the side of her neck.

"Fred, we're in public," Auden said, giggling some more as she gently nudged him away.

"So what?" he asked. "Usually you don't care if I kiss you in public."

"Yeah, but it's never been like this," she answered, blushing.

Fred grinned and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before moving away from her and sitting down at the base of the tree. Auden sat down beside him and leaned her head back on the tree. Fred began dragging his thumb across the scars on her left hand left behind from Umbridge's quill. Looking at them brought back the memories of their first detention, when he had seen the cuts forming, the blood leaking out, and he hadn't been able to do a thing to stop it. And now, the back of Auden's beautiful, perfect hand was covered in scars.

"Looking at these makes me angry," he finally said.

"Mm," Auden agreed. "Looking at yours makes me angry, too." She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was staring down at her hand as he read over the words. Finally, he met her eyes as he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"Love you," he whispered with a small smile.

"Love you, too," Auden whispered back as she returned the smile.

Later that afternoon, Auden and Fred met up with George and were walking back to the common room together when they saw a little boy crying on a bench by himself. He was a second year who had been in the DA.

"What's wrong?" Auden asked the boy gently as she kneeled in front of him. Fred crouched down beside the boy and George sat on the bench on his other side. They boy held up his cut hand.

Auden shared a look with Fred. "Umbridge?" she asked the boy, who nodded. "Don't worry, it'll be alright. You didn't do anything to deserve this," Auden said gently.

"What's your name?" George asked.

"Nigel," the boy sniffed.

"It's going to be fine," George told him, patting the boy's knee.

"Yeah, it's not as bad as it seems," Fred said. "See, it's fading already."

"You can barely see ours anymore," George said in a comforting tone.

"And the pain stops after a while," Fred added. He looked up to see Auden staring at him with a strange look in her eyes, almost as if she wanted to throw her arms around him. "What?" he whispered.

Auden just smiled and shook her head as footsteps drew nearer. It was Harry. He didn't say a word to them, just watched as they continued to comfort Nigel.

"Hem, hem." They all looked up to see Umbridge standing behind them. Fred and George stood up and moved behind Harry. "As I told you once before, Mr. Potter, naughty children deserve to be punished."

"You know, George," Fred said, getting to his feet as Umbridge walked away. "I've always felt our futures lay outside the world of academic achievement."

"Fred, I've been thinking exactly the same thing," answered George.

Fred looked over at his twin and he knew his twin was sharing the same thought he was. They were going to leave Hogwarts early.

* * *

"We heard from Ginny that you need to talk to Sirius," Fred said, as he and George joined Harry in the common room that night. Auden had gone to bed early, but Fred wished she hadn't. She should've been snuggled up next to him on the couch.

"What?" Hermione asked, in shock. Clearly, Harry hadn't mentioned his plan to her.

"Yeah, I thought-, well, I need to talk to him," Harry answered, staring into the fire.

"How are you going to contact him?" Hermione asked.

"Through the fireplace," Harry answered immediately.

_Sharp as a tack, that boy_, Fred thought.

"All the fireplaces are being watched aren't they?" Ron asked.

"All except-," Hermione began.

"Umbridge's office," Harry finished dully.

"How do you expect to get inside?" Hermione asked.

"Sirius' knife," Harry answered again.

"That's two points for Harry, and zero for Hermione," George grinned. "Anyway, Harry, you'll need to distract the toad and that's where Fred and I come in. We were going to do this anyway, but why not kill two birds with one stone, right?"

"Okay," Harry answered. "When?"

"How does next Saturday at five sound?" George asked.

"Great," Harry responded. "How much time can you get me?"

"We can only guarantee about twenty minutes," Fred told him.

"That's enough time," Harry said, nodding. "Thanks."

"What kind of distraction are you planning?" Ron asked.

"You'll find out if you run along to the hallway where Gregory the Smarmy's statue is located," Fred said with a wink, before following George up to their dorm.

"So you think the summoning charm will break our brooms out of the wall?" George asked Fred as they sat on their beds.

"It should," Fred answered. "And then we'll be able to get out of this joint." His eyes then fell on his picture of him and Auden and he felt his heart sinking. Ever since he and George had decided to leave Hogwarts, he had been trying to figure out how to tell Auden and George the same with Katie.

"She's going to want to come with us, George," Fred said quietly. "I can't let her do that. She needs to finish school."

George nodded. "Katie too. She won't even be of age for another two months, and even if she was of age now, I'm not sure if I would let her come with us."

Fred then noticed the clock on his nightstand had just changed to midnight. He and George were officially eighteen years old. "Happy birthday," he told George with a smile.

"Happy birthday," George answered.

Just then, the door burst open with a bang. Fred jumped and George fell off of his bed in shock.

"It's just me," Auden said. She was holding two handmade cards and two gifts. "I couldn't wait any longer, so here you go." She handed them both their gifts.

"Was heart failure part of your birthday plan?" Fred asked, still trying to calm his racing heart.

"No, of course not, now open your gifts before I explode from excitement."

"I thought you went to bed," George said, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and pulling on the ribbon of his gift with the other.

"Nope, I was wrapping these," Auden said.

Fred opened his present before looking at the card; he liked to work backwards. Auden sat down next to him as he opened the box. Inside was a chalkboard about the size of a larger picture frame.

"It's for the shop," Auden explained as George unwrapped a sketchbook and a collection of quills. "Those too, you know, for when you invent things. You can sketch them in there and the chalkboard I thought you can hang on the wall and write reminders on it or something."

Fred smiled, but felt his stomach clench. Talking about the shop reminded him that he had to tell Auden that he was leaving. "Thanks Aud," he whispered, leaning over and kissing her temple.

"Yeah, we need stuff like this. We haven't really thought much about what we're going to decorate the shop with and we're also running low on paper to sketch things on. Thanks," George grinned.

"No problem. Oh, and there's one more thing, Fred. I'm taking you out to dinner to that really nice restaurant in Hogsmeade. My treat." Auden was grinning and bouncing up and down.

"Wow, I've always wanted to go there," Fred said, looking excited. "When?"

"When else? The next Hogsmeade trip, silly."

Fred thought a minute before his mouth dropped open. "Is that next Saturday?" he managed to croak out.

"Yeah, I made reservations for 5 o'clock. Why?" Auden asked.

"No reason," George interrupted, giving Fred a look saying they would discuss this when Auden left.

"Okay," Auden said with a laugh. "Well, I guess I'll let you get some sleep now." She gave George a hug and kissed Fred gently before leaving, closing the door quietly behind her.

"What are we going to do?" Fred asked frantically.

"Fred, you have to tell her we're leaving," George said. "We'll make a deal. You tell Auden and I'll tell Katie. Tomorrow."

"Yes, but she'll be devastated that I have to cancel our date because I'm dropping out of school," Fred said. "Can we-?"

George shook his head. "I wish we could, but everything's already set for next Saturday. We can't change the plans now."

Fred sighed. "We don't have any other options do we?"

George shook his head.

Fred ran his hand through his hair. "Fine, I'll tell Auden tomorrow. She'll understand, right? I mean, she knows how we feel about school now that the old toad's taken over."

George nodded. "And I'm sure Katie will understand too," he said.

Fred just looked at his brother and he knew they were thinking the same thing. They had wanted to leave Hogwarts because there wasn't anything left for them there, but the truth was that the two people who meant the most to them were there. Why did things have to be so difficult?

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is from the song ****_Rhythm of Love_**** by the Plain White T's. :) Reviews would make my day**


	12. Chapter 12: I'd Walk A Thousand Miles

"Fred, what's wrong? You've been acting odd all day," Auden said at lunch. Fred had sat down next to her and had only said a vague hello.

"It's…nothing," Fred said, staring at his food.

"Is it Umbridge? Because if she did something to you I'll-,"

"No, it's not Umbridge," Fred said. He took a deep breath. "George and I, well, we aren't…"

"Aren't what?" Auden asked gently, taking Fred's hand in hers.

"We aren't, um," Fred took another deep breath, "staying at Hogwarts."

"Well, yeah, it _is_ your last year," Auden said, confused.

"No, I mean we're leaving early. Next Saturday to be exact." Fred squeezed his eyes shut as if he expected Auden to hit him over the head with the pot of soup on the table, but he opened his eyes when he noticed Auden was silent.

"You're leaving early? For good" she asked, removing her hand and looking down at her fingers intently. All of her happy energy was gone, leaving her feeling like a punctured balloon. Fred was leaving early and he was leaving on the day she was supposed to take him out for his birthday dinner. She knew it wasn't exactly his fault, but she wished he had said something sooner. And she was going to miss him.

Fred nodded. "Yeah, and I'm really, truly sorry. I know you had plans for my birthday and I wanted to do that with you. You have to believe me, but George already made plans with the people we bought the shop from. We can't change the date."

"Why didn't you tell me when I brought you your presents?" she whispered.

"I didn't know how. I was scared," Fred answered. "You have to believe me that I'd love to spend time with you, but there's nothing I can do."

"I know you wouldn't blow off our date or anything and I know you would change the date if you could, so I'm not as concerned about that," Auden said quietly, still staring at her hands. "I don't want you to leave, but then I feel like that's really selfish of me. I know why you're leaving, of course."

"You do?" Fred asked.

"With Dumbledore gone, things here haven't been the same. Umbridge takes everything too far and all you want to do is open your joke shop. I get it. I don't like it, but I get it. There's nothing here to prevent you from leaving."

"You're here, though, that's the problem," Fred said. "I don't want to leave you, trust me, but you're right. The joke shop is a huge dream for both me and George." He picked up Auden's hand tentatively. She didn't exactly respond to it, but she didn't shake him off either.

"Can I come with you?" she asked hopefully, looking up at him.

Fred shook his head and Auden looked down again. "You have to stay here," he whispered. "You need to finish school."

"No, I don't," she whispered.

"Yes, you do. I'm not going to let you drop out. Besides, we'll be able to see each other soon enough. Just over two more months until summer vacation."

"You say that like it's going to be easy," Auden whispered, looking up at Fred again. She felt tears forming in her eyes but she managed to hold them back.

"Oh, Aud," Fred said quietly, gently cupping her cheek in his hand. "I know it'll be hard. It's going to be hard for me as well, but I'm just trying to find some positivity here."

"I know, and I appreciate it, but I'm just going to miss seeing you every day. I knew it was going to happen eventually because I still have two years of school left, but I was still expecting to have all of this year with you."

"I'm sorry," Fred whispered, pushing a strand of hair behind Auden's ear.

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. I'm happy for you, really. And so proud, too." She smiled.

"Contact me anytime you want. Use the mirror," Fred said as Auden nodded. She leaned forward and kissed him hard, taking him by surprise, but he kissed her back nonetheless.

"I love you," she whispered when she pulled away.

"I love you too," he answered, running his thumb along her cheekbone. "And I'll make the missed dinner up to you," he added after a moment. "I promise."

* * *

The next Saturday arrived quickly. Auden and Fred had tried to spend as much time together as possible during the week. Auden knew she could always use the mirror to talk to Fred once he had left, but it wasn't the same as being with him, holding his hand and sitting beside him on the couch.

At four fifteen that evening, Fred and Auden were sitting on the couch next to each other. Auden was leaning against Fred's side and his arm was curled around her shoulders and touching her head, gently moving his hand up across her forehead and into her hair. George and Katie were sitting in another corner of the common room, talking in whispers with their foreheads resting against each other. Suddenly, George stood and walked over to Auden and Fred.

"Is it time already?" Fred asked.

"Yeah," George nodded.

"Let's do it," Fred answered, and Auden could see from his expression how excited he was about opening the shop up.

Slowly, Auden sat up from her spot against Fred and stood up from the couch. He stood up next to her.

"Can I come help with the prank at least?" Auden asked. Asking was worth a try. Anything to spend as much time as possible with Fred before he left.

Fred shook his head. "Just go to the hallway that I told you about. Remember to be there at five and you'll see what we've been planning."

Auden sighed. "Well, I guess I'll see you in the summer when I come visit you."

Fred turned to George. "Can I meet you there? I won't be long."

George nodded and gave Auden a hug. "I'll see you soon," he whispered. She nodded and watched him leave through the portrait hole.

"I'll call you on our mirrors when I get to the shop," Fred said. He smiled. "So you'll know I'm safe."

Auden nodded. "Okay," she whispered.

Fred leaned in and gently kissed her, but deepened it after a second. His hands were on either side of her face and Auden wrapped her arms around his waist. They finally broke apart and Auden hugged Fred tightly, burying her face into his chest. "Promise me you'll be careful," she whispered.

"I will," Fred promised as he held her away from him at arm's length and studied her face. "I want you to be careful too and don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"So pranks are allowed then," Auden said, cracking a smile.

Fred nodded. "Go for it. I'll expect to hear stories when I see you over the summer."

Auden's smile widened. "Don't worry, I'll make you proud."

Fred smiled. "I love you. Don't forget that."

Auden smiled. "I love you, too."

Fred pulled her into another hug before letting her go and walking towards the portrait hole. He paused long enough to turn around and wave at Auden before he disappeared from view. Katie came over to stand by Auden. "Depressing, isn't it?" she said, breaking the silence.

A faint smile quickly flashed across Auden's face. "Yeah. Do you want to walk down to see this prank with me?"

Katie nodded. "Did Fred tell you anything about it?"

"No, he just said it was going to give Umbridge a lot of trouble."

Just then, Ron entered the common room, followed by Hermione.

"Hi Auden, Katie," he said. "Hermione and I were just going to go see what Fred and George have planned."

"We were just about to go too," Katie said, nodding.

"What's wrong with you two? You're usually excited to see Fred and George's pranks," Ron said.

"Oh, we are excited," Katie said as Auden put on a smile. The twins hadn't told anyone but them that they were planning on leaving Hogwarts.

"Let's go then," Ron said, impatiently. The four of them made their way to the corridor the twins had instructed them to go to. It was filled with students walking to different destinations. Auden, Katie, Ron, and Hermione peered around the corner.

"It looks normal to me," Hermione observed, but just then, Fred and George appeared from behind a statue.

"Everybody clear out of this hallway. Someone set off a dung bomb around the corner and this hallway's going to smell pretty soon," Fred yelled. Immediately, the hallway emptied. In their rush, nobody noticed the four friends hiding around the corner.

"That's their idea of a prank?" Ron asked. "Just a dung bomb?"

"No, that was to clear everyone out of the hallway," Auden whispered. She knew Fred and George well enough to know that a dung bomb was not enough for the frustration and annoyance they were trying to cause Umbridge.

Fred and George were now setting up a box near the wall in the middle of the hallway. After a few minutes of adjusting it and fiddling around with it, they stood up. George pointed his wand at the box and muttered a spell. Immediately, both twins turned and ran down the hallway, past the others, and down to the entrance hall. Auden could have sworn she saw Fred wink at her as he ran by.

"Should we follow them?" Hermione asked.

"Wait, look," Katie said, pointing towards the box the twins had set up. Muddy water was seeping rapidly from the box and spreading all over the hallway.

"Wicked," Ron whispered.

"Umbridge is coming, and so is Filch," Auden said, hearing the two adult voices coming from the opposite direction.

Katie pulled them all behind another statue and watched as Umbridge screamed in horror at the swamp now covering the hallway. "I know who did this," she whispered. "Those filthy twins. They would have a product like this. Mr. Filch, I think I know the first two victims of that new form of punishment we just got the approval for."

"Ooh, shall I go get the whips then?" Filch asked. "And the chains to hang them up by their wrists in the dungeons?"

"Yes, get them and set them up in the dungeons. Then, meet me in the entrance hall with the approval notice from the Minister. It's on my desk in my office. I'm going to teach the Weasley boys a lesson." She smiled that annoying constipated smile before turning and walking swiftly away. Filch looked as if he had just been informed that he had been appointed caretaker of the year as he dashed off towards Umbridge's office.

"No," Auden gasped. "We have to go warn Fred and George."

"Auden, stop," Hermione said, pulling her back. "Umbridge won't listen to you and she won't stop at anything. You'll end up punished too."

"I don't care," Auden answered.

"They're leaving, Aud, remember?" Katie whispered into Auden's ear.

"I know, but what if she stops them?" Auden whispered back.

"Why don't we go to the entrance hall and see what's going on?" Ron suggested.

Auden finally calmed down and the four of them ran to the entrance hall as fast as they could go. The area was already crowded with students forming a half circle around Fred and George, who were standing in front of the front doors wearing smug grins, but also looking as if they knew that they were cornered. Members of the Umbridge's Inquisitorial Squad stood slightly behind the twins, looking joyful. Auden put two and two together. She knew that Fred and George hadn't been planning on leaving in front of the whole school. Umbridge must have sent the squad out to corner the twins.

Auden and Katie pushed their way to the front so they had a clear view. Ron and Hermione appeared next to her moments later. Before Auden could decide what to do, the crowd of people standing on the stairs parted and Umbridge walked through, followed by Filch, who was carrying a piece of paper.

"Good and cornered," Umbridge said nastily, stopping at the second to last step and looking across the entrance hall at Fred and George. "You two thought it was amusing to turn a school corridor into a swamp?"

"Pretty amusing, yeah," said Fred, looking up at Umbridge without the slightest sign of fear.

Filch edged his way closer to Umbridge. "The chains are waiting in the dungeons," he said. "Everything's ready to go."

"Very good," Umbridge said. "You two," she added, looking down at the twins, "are about to learn what happens to wrongdoers in my school."

Auden's arm made and involuntary movement as if she were about to run out and stop Umbridge, but Katie lightly touched her arm and Auden stayed put.

"You know what?" Fred was saying. "I don't think we are." He turned to his brother and grinned. "George, I think we've outgrown full-time education."

George nodded. "I've been feeling that way myself," he said lightly.

"Time to test our talents in the real world, don't you think?" asked Fred.

"Definitely," answered George.

Before anybody could do or say anything, they raised their wands and shouted "Accio brooms!"

Within seconds, Fred and George's Cleensweeps were flying through the air towards them, George's still attached to the chain and peg that had held them to the wall.

"We won't be seeing you," Fred said to Umbridge as he swung his leg over his broomstick.

"Yeah, don't bother to keep in touch," George added, climbing onto his own broom.

Auden watched as Fred's eyes searched the crowd. She knew he was looking for her, and finally his blue eyes met her brown ones. She smiled at him, hoping her expression conveyed that despite how sad she was, she was proud of him. Fred winked before turning to address the crowd.

"If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley. Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes, our new premises," he announced loudly.

"Special discounts to Hogwarts students who swear they're going to use our products to get rid of this old bat," added George, tilting his head in Umbridge's direction.

"Filch, somebody, anybody, stop then!" Umbridge screeched, but neither Filch or the Inquisitorial Squad were quick enough. Fred and George kicked off from the floor, rising higher and higher into the air.

Auden watched as Fred stared across the entrance hall at Peeves, floating in the air. "Give her hell from us, Peeves."

Peeves silently saluted Fred and George and Auden's mouth dropped open in amusement and surprise. Peeves never took orders from students.

Fred and George swiveled their brooms around to face the front doors, which George opened with a wave of his wand.

Auden saw Fred's eyes find hers once more as George found Katie. Their eyes met for a split second before the twins sped through the front doors and disappeared.

The crowd was cheering now and Auden found herself smiling. Leave it to Fred and George to make an exit that no one would ever forget.

As the crowd began to thin, Auden turned to follow her friends back to the common room, but she felt someone grab her arm roughly and pull her around. It was Umbridge.

"Where did they go?" she said angrily.

"What?" Auden asked horrified. She turned and mouthed to Katie, Ron and Hermione to go on without her.

"I know you know where the twins went," Umbridge said, her face now inches away from Auden's.

Auden stared right back. "I don't know," she lied. "I don't know where they went."

"Am I correct when I say you are dating Fred Weasley?" Umbridge asked.

"Yes," Auden answered. "But he didn't tell me where he was going."

"Are they going to their new shop?" Umbridge asked.

"Not sure," Auden continued to lie. There was no way she was ratting the twins out to Umbridge.

Umbridge wasn't letting go of her arm. If anything, she was tightening her grip. "Well, then, you must have been in on that whole swamp prank," she said.

Auden was sure Umbridge was just thinking of ways to yell at her. "No, I wasn't."

"You mean to tell me that you were not a part of the prank and also had no idea it was going on?" Umbridge asked.

"Yes," Auden nodded.

"How do I know you aren't lying to cover up for them?"

"I'm not lying," Auden said, trying to remain calm.

"Well, until I'm sure, I think you need to be punished," Umbridge said. "Filch, follow me."

Umbridge dragged Auden by her arm down to the dungeons with Filch at their heels. Auden's arm was beginning to go numb. Umbridge was strong for such a tiny woman.

"Here we are," Umbridge said in her fake sweet voice as she pulled Auden into an empty room.

"Don't you think whipping people is a little over the top?" Auden squeaked.

"Oh, if everything goes well, I don't think we'll have to do any whipping today, Miss Parker. But we are going to play a little game. Here's how it works. Filch is going to dangle you from the ceiling by your pretty little wrists and until you tell me the truth, you'll just dangle here. Sounds fun, right?"

Auden tried to make a run for the door, but Filch grabbed her. "Easy now, you little brat," he wheezed. He closed Auden's hands in the chains and Umbridge charmed them to fly up to the ceiling. Auden began kicking her legs as more of an attempt to kick Umbridge then to break free.

"Now, would you like to tell me the truth about where the Weasley twins went, or your involvement in the swamp prank?"

"I already told you I know nothing," Auden said breathlessly.

Suddenly, the door opened and Malfoy marched in, his hand closed around Katie's arm. "I grabbed the other one's girlfriend like you said."

"Excellent," Umbridge said, as she immediately enclosed Katie's wrists and dangled her from the ceiling next to Auden. "You may leave, Draco. You have been a great help. Now, Miss Bell, I'm going to ask you the same questions I asked Miss Parker. Do you know the whereabouts of the twins?"

"No," Katie said firmly.

"Were you involved in the prank they pulled earlier today?"

"No," Katie said again, looking straight ahead.

"Did you know anything about this prank? Anything at all?" Umbridge pressed on.

"No, nothing," Katie repeated.

Umbridge glanced angrily between Auden and Katie. "Well then, I think I'll leave you two here for, let's see, an hour and a half. When I come back, maybe you'll be prepared to give some appropriate answers." She walked over to stand in front of Auden and smiled at her. "What a pretty necklace," she commented, reaching up to touch the heart necklace around Auden's neck.

To Auden's horror, Umbridge closed her hand around the necklace and pulled. The necklace broke and flew across the room, the chain and heart shaped piece hitting the wall and then the floor with two separate, tiny little clink noises.

Auden gasped and stared at Umbridge in pure horror. Umbridge gave one of her girlish giggles before leaving the room with Filch, slamming the door behind her.

"She did _not_ just do that!" Katie exclaimed.

Auden was still staring at the doorway, with her mouth hanging open. It was then that tears began falling rapidly from her eyes out of anger, sadness, and horror. "I hate her," she sobbed.

"I know, Aud, me too," Katie said in a comforting voice. "I wish there was a way out."

But there didn't seem to be a way. Both of their wands were in their pockets, and their hands were obviously tied up. Auden couldn't even bear to look at her broken necklace lying on the floor.

"What are we going to tell her when she comes back?" Auden asked, as she stopped crying.

"I don't know, Aud, I just don't know," Katie responded.

* * *

After sneaking back into the room at the Burrow to charm all of their packed boxes to the shop, Fred and George flew over to Diagon Alley so they could start moving in. Mrs. Weasley had no idea they were dropping out of school, so they had to be quiet to avoid questions. Before Fred did anything, he pulled out his mirror so that he could let Auden know that he had gotten there safely. He sat on the couch as he held up the mirror, closed his eyes, and pictured Auden's smiling face. Nothing happened.

"George," Fred called to his twin, who was opening a box lying on the floor. They were setting up the flat first, before moving on to stocking inventory in the shop the next day.

"What is it?" George answered.

"Auden's not picking up her mirror."

"Maybe she's at dinner," George said, his voice muffled as he stuck his head into the box and rummaged through it.

"No, dinner's been over for half an hour. She'd usually be back in her dorm or the common room by now."

"Maybe she's in the common room but left her mirror in her dorm," George said, lifting out a vase their mother had insisted they bring with them to decorate the flat.

"Maybe," Fred said slowly, but he couldn't help but wonder if that was really the case. He had mentioned to Auden that he would use the mirror to let her know when he arrived, so she was expecting him to contact her.

He decided that he would try again later as he put down the mirror and began to help George unpack. The last item he unpacked that night was the picture frame of him and Auden, dancing together all those years ago. He placed it on his nightstand and sat on the bed before reaching for the mirror to try to get Auden again, but George stopped him.

"Relax, she's probably fine," he said. "She'll try to contact you back when she gets a moment."

"I promised her, though," Fred whispered.

"I know," George nodded. "But don't worry about it. She's probably just doing homework or she fell asleep."

Even still, Fred couldn't shake the feeling that something was horribly wrong.

* * *

**A/N: I hope everyone likes this chapter, it was exciting to write, even though Umbridge is her usual annoying self at the end.**

**The song that the title came from is **_**A Thousand Miles**_** by Vanessa Carlton.**


	13. Chapter 13: We Can Make It Right

Thirty minutes had passed since Umbridge had trapped Auden and Katie in the dungeon and Auden was getting tired and annoyed. Her wrists hurt from being clamped in the chains and her arms and shoulders hurt from being dangled from the ceiling in the position she was.

Just then, there was the sound of frantic footsteps coming towards the room she and Katie were in.

"Do you think she's back early?" Katie asked.

"I hope not," Auden said angrily, "because I don't know what I'm going to tell her."

The doorknob jiggled for a few seconds before the person on the other side seemed to realize it was locked. Auden could hear voices. Suddenly, the door burst open and Professor McGonagall ran in, her face pale, followed by Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Auden had never been so happy to see them in her life.

"How did you know we were down here?" Katie asked.

"When we saw Malfoy come and get you, we knew it couldn't have been good," Ron said. "Then, we ran into Harry who said he saw Umbridge and Filch taking Auden down to the dungeons."

"They then came to get me," Professor McGonagall added. "We would have been here sooner, but of course we had to check to make sure Dolores had left before barging in here." Professor McGonagall was furious and it showed. If her mouth got any thinner, it would disappear completely. "She may be the new head of Hogwarts, but she is not permitted to do this. I will not allow it," Professor McGonagall continued.

"How are you going to stop her?" Auden asked.

"I don't know exactly. She has the Minister behind her, but the first step is getting you two out of here."

"Do you think you could get us down?" Katie asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Professor McGonagall said, waving her wand over the chains. Katie and Auden fell to the floor.

"Now, hurry on up to your dorms at once before Dolores can get down here and enforce another crazy decree on us." Professor McGonagall's nostrils were flaring with anger.

"Wait, my necklace, I can probably fix it by magic," Auden said, starting to turn around.

"We don't have time," Professor McGonagall said, ushering them out the door.

Once they had reached the common room, they all collapsed on the couch and into chairs. "That _toad!_" Hermione exclaimed suddenly. "I can't believe she would do that to students!"

"What did she do to your necklace, Auden?" Harry asked.

"She ripped it off my neck," Auden whispered, touching the spot where the necklace used to be. "It broke and now it's lying on the floor of the dungeons."

"That's terrible," Ron said, shaking his head. "Absolutely mental."

"Maybe we should write to Fred and George. You know, tell them what happened," Hermione suggested.

"No, I don't think we should," Auden said, glancing at Katie. "I don't know what you think, but if we write to them, they'll just come back here and get in trouble."

"I agree," Katie said, nodding. "We can just tell them once school's over."

Auden nodded her head and brought her knees up to her chest. Today had probably been the worst day ever. Suddenly, she remembered that Fred was supposed to communicate with her with the mirrors, but she had been in the dungeons. He would probably guess something was up.

Auden told Hermione her concern as they got ready for bed a little later that night.

"Maybe he just thought something came up. He wouldn't think Umbridge did something to you because of him leaving. If he thought she would do something, then he wouldn't have left," Hermione said.

"True," Auden answered. She had tried to use the mirror as soon as she had reached the dorm, but Fred hadn't picked up. He was probably still unpacking or sleeping.

"Are you going to be okay?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I just need to sleep," Auden answered, climbing into bed.

* * *

The next two months went by quickly. It took Auden a little while to get used to Fred not being by her side, but she learned to deal with it. She finally got to talk to Fred on their mirrors, but she didn't mention anything about Umbridge besides what the school was doing to make her life miserable.

None of the Professors had removed the swamp, even though they were completely capable of doing so, Lee had sent a few nifflers in through Umbridge's office window, and somehow students were smuggling Fred and George's products into the school.

Fred seemed especially thrilled to hear that people were using his and George's products. He was extra happy to find out that Auden, Ron, and Harry had gotten their entire Defense class along with Lee's class to eat various Skiving Snackboxes in the middle of class all at once. He couldn't stop laughing when Auden told him.

OWL exams were coming closer and closer and even though Auden was incredibly nervous, she was glad. She wanted this year to be over. Her first three exams went smoothly, but it wasn't until her Astronomy exam that something interesting happened.

The exam was being held on the Astronomy tower at midnight and Auden was just examining a certain star that she needed to identify when the oak front doors banged open below them. The entire class jumped and peered over the tower to see what was happening.

Umbridge was walking across the lawn towards Hagrid's hut. Auden looked at Ron, Harry, and Hermione, who looked just as scared as she felt. Hagrid had warned them that he might be getting fired. He had even asked them to take care of his brother, who had smuggled back from his little trip to the mountains. It just so happened that his brother was a full giant. He was tall, noisy, had little knowledge of the English language, the whole package.

Umbridge had now reached Hagrid's hut and she pounded on the door. After she had been inside for about a minute, something caused Hagrid to throw a fit. Umbridge had come prepared with a few henchmen and they were shooting Stunning spells at Hagrid, who was trying to run. During the commotion, Professor McGonagall came running from the castle. Four separate Stunning spells flew past Hagrid and hit McGonagall.

"No," Harry said, as Hermione screamed and Auden gasped.

Seamus was watching the whole thing through his telescope. "She is definitely unconscious," he reported. Umbridge was still trying to Stun Hagrid as he grabbed Fang and ran towards the forest.

Professor McGonagall had to be taken to St. Mungo's right away and although she was in critical condition, she was expected to live.

Finally, it was Auden's last exam. It also happened to be the most boring one, History of Magic. Auden was seated a few seats in front of Harry. Only the Patil twins and Pansy Parkinson separated them. Halfway through the exam, Auden heard a scream come from his direction. She whipped her head around to see Harry lying on the ground.

"What's wrong?" several people asked, panicking.

"Bad dream, nothing to worry about," Harry said, but his facial expression said differently. The instructor who had passed out the tests sent Harry to the hospital wing, despite his protests.

Immediately after the exam, Auden caught up with Ron and Hermione, who were equally worried about Harry.

"I think he went into Voldemort's mind again," Hermione said frantically.

Just then, Harry came barreling around the corner towards them. "I have to talk to you!" he yelled. Instead of stopping in front of them, he kept walking until they were in an empty classroom.

"What happened, Harry? Did you see into You-Know-Who's mind?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, and he has Sirius,"

"He what?" Auden asked.

"He has Sirius in the Department of Mysteries. I've been dreaming about the place for months, and now Voldemort's in there with Sirius. He wants something and Sirius is going to get it for him or else Voldemort will kill him."

"Harry, how do you know Voldemort isn't trying to trick you?" Hermione asked reasonably.

"Sirius is being tortured _right now,_ Hermione," Harry said, his voice rising.

"Yes, but what if Sirius isn't really there? Voldemort knows about your connection. He could be using it to get you to go to him, knowing you'll go to save Sirius."

"Fine, then how do we find out if he's using the connection?" Harry asked impatiently.

Hermione took a deep breath and Auden knew what she was going to say before she said it. "Umbridge's fireplace. You can use it to check Grimmauld Place and see if Sirius is there. If he is, then we stay here. If he isn't then we'll go save him. Does that sound good?"

Harry nodded as the door opened and Ginny walked in with Luna. "Hello, we thought we heard Harry shouting," Ginny said calmly. "What's going on?"

"Sirius is in the Department of Mysteries with Voldemort," Harry said.

"We don't know for sure, though," Hermione clarified. "We were going to use Umbridge's fireplace to check Grimmauld Place."

"We're going to need a lookout and a distraction, then," Ginny said. "Luna and I can do that."

"Oh, yes, that sounds very fun," Luna commented.

"Yes, you can be the lookout. Ron and Auden will help you and I'll go into the office with Harry," Hermione said.

Harry looked at all of them gratefully. "You don't have to-,"

"Well, we are," Auden said, smiling. "So get used to it."

"How about I tell Umbridge that Peeves is destroying the Transfiguation department?" Ron asked.

"Yes, tell her that," Hermione said. "Then, meet Ginny, Luna, and Auden in the corridor where Umbridge's office is. Harry, go get your invisibility cloak and meet us in front of the office"

Ron sped off to find Umbridge while Harry ran to the common room and the others ran to Umbridge's office.

"We need to prevent anyone from coming down this hallway," Hermione said to Auden, Ginny, and Luna.

"We can tell people that someone set off a dung bomb," Auden said, smiling faintly, thinking of Fred and George.

Hermione smiled knowingly. "That'll work."

Harry and Ron returned and Harry waited with Hermione while Ron and Luna walked to one end of the hallway and Auden and Ginny went to the other.

"Don't come down here," Ginny warned a group of students. "Someone set off a dung bomb."

Eventually, the coast was clear so that Harry could slip the cloak over himself and Hermione. They snuck into Umbridge's office while the others continued their lookout position.

"Hi guys, what's up?" Neville asked, approaching Ginny and Auden.

"Someone set off a dung bomb in this hallway. We're making sure nobody goes down there," Auden said.

"I can't smell anything. Wouldn't the smell have traveled by now?" Neville asked, looking at them suspiciously.

Auden and Ginny looked at each other. "Oh okay, Harry snuck into Umbridge's office with Hermione. We're guarding this end of the hallway and Ron and Luna are guarding down there," Ginny explained.

"From Umbridge?" Neville asked.

Ginny and Auden nodded.

"Well, I think we might be out of luck," Neville said pointing in the other direction.

Auden and Ginny whirled around to see Umbridge marching towards them. Members of her Inquisitorial Squad were right behind her. Two of them were gripping Ron and Luna by the arm.

Umbridge was so furious, she could hardly talk. Malfoy grabbed Neville while Crabbe and Goyle grabbed onto Hermione and Auden. Umbridge was barging into her office now. The Slytherin holding onto Auden's arm was about to break it in half from the tight hold he had on it.

Harry looked shocked as he looked around at all of his friends being held captive. Umbridge forced him into a chair and he stared around at them apologetically.

"Who were you trying to communicate with?" Umbridge asked, pointing her wand in Harry's face. "Was it Albus Dumbledore, or that Hagrid? I doubt it was Minerva McGonagall. I hear she's too ill to speak to anyone."

"It was nobody," Harry said.

"It was Dumbledore, wasn't it? You were trying to get information from him on how to overthrow me! Can you tell me his whereabouts? Or perhaps the whereabouts of the alleged murderer, Sirius Black?"

"No, I don't know where they are," Harry answered.

Snape suddenly appeared at the door. "You asked for me?" he said in his monotone voice. Auden suddenly felt very stupid and she could practically hear Hermione mentally kicking herself. Snape was in the Order and he was the only member still left at Hogwarts. Why hadn't they simply just gone to him?

"Yes, I am questioning Mr. Potter here and I want the truth from him. Do you have any Veriteserum?" Umbridge asked.

"No, I have none left. I believe you used the last of it on Mrs. Edgecombe," Snape said, looking at Harry.

"Well, make some more," Umbridge said frantically.

"It would take a month," Snape replied. He was now staring around at the Slytherins holding onto Auden, Ginny, Ron, Luna, and Neville.

"A month?" Umbridge gasped. Snape nodded seriously and Umbridge sighed. "Very well, you may go."

Snape looked annoyed with Umbridge, but turned to go.

"He's got Padfoot!" Harry yelled. "He's got Padfoot at the place where it's hidden!" It seemed like it had also registered with Harry that Snape could help them save Sirius.

"Who is Padfoot, Snape? What is he talking about?" asked Umbridge.

Snape stared at Harry blankly. "I have no idea," he answered, before leaving the room.

"Well, Mr. Potter , seeing as I can't use Veriteserum on you, I'll have to resort to other methods," Umbridge said, slowly circling Harry's chair like a vulture. "The Cruciatus curse should do it."

"That's illegal," Hermione said angrily.

"What the Minister doesn't know won't hurt him," Umbridge said softly as she walked to her desk and pushed the picture of the Minister face down on her desk. Then, she turned to Harry and raised her wand.

"Tell her, Harry!" Hermione yelled.

Auden looked at Hermione like she had just lost her mind. She wasn't the only one. Ginny, Ron, and Neville were looking at her too. Luna was looking at the ceiling and if Auden hadn't been so nervous, she probably would have laughed.

"Tell me what, Miss Granger?" Umbridge asked.

"Where the weapon is!" Hermione yelled. "Dumbledore asked us to carry on with it if he had to leave and we've been doing it, we've been helping him!"

"Aha! So you were trying to contact Dumbledore! And he's having you build a weapon, you said?"

Hermione nodded her head.

"Take me to it. You and Potter. The rest of you can stay here," Umbridge said Crabbe let Hermione go. As Hermione followed Harry and Umbridge out the door, she turned around and smirked slightly.

The room was now silent. Goyle began poking the back of Auden's neck forcefully. "If you're putting boogers in my hair, I swear I'll hex you," Auden said. "Or do you just get great fun from poking people in the back of the neck?"

"Uh, the second one," Goyle answered, sounding as if it had taken him ages to comprehend Auden's words.

"I'm really hungry," Crabbe said.

"When are you not?" Malfoy asked with a snort and Auden actually had to agree with him.

"I have candy. It's in my pocket," Ron said, struggling to reach into his pocket.

Auden couldn't believe him. They were trapped in here with no way of getting out and they were most likely going to be punished severely by Umbridge and Ron was passing out candy as if it were Halloween.

Ron had finally managed to extract a handful of candy. Crabbe and Goyle were the first to snatch some and the rest of the Slytherin's followed their lead. It was only then that Auden realized what Ron had done. He had given them all Nosebleed Nougats. She would recognize that red wrapper anywhere.

All at once, the Slytherins began clutching their noses. Auden took the opportunity to stomp on Goyle's foot and she saw the other's doing the same. They each grabbed their wands from Umbridge's desk and Ron grabbed Harry's and Hermione's. Once at the door, Auden glanced back and almost laughed.

Malfoy was tilting his head way back, whimpering, and fanning his face. Goyle and Crabbe were looking at each other stupidly and trying to wipe the blood from their faces but it just kept coming.

"Doesn't this woman own any tissues?" another asked as he began searching the drawers of Umbridge's desk.

Auden grinned and raced down the hallway after the others. Once out on the school grounds, they saw Harry and Hermione leaving the forest, looking scratched, but otherwise unharmed. They were also without Umbridge.

"How did you escape?" Harry asked.

"Nosebleed Nougat," Ron answered, throwing Harry and Hermione their wands.

"It was Ron's idea," Ginny said. "A good one, really."

"Wow, Ron, that's impressive," Hermione said as Ron blushed.

"What happened to Umbridge?" Neville asked.

"She was dragged away by the centaurs," Hermione said.

"We need to get to the ministry, right now," Harry said, rubbing his scar and glancing at Hermione, Ron, and Auden.

"We're coming too, Harry," Ginny told him forcefully.

"No, it's too dangerous. I can't have you-,"

"Isn't that what we were in the DA for?" Neville asked. "To prepare ourselves for stuff like this?"

"Who said you had to do any of this alone?" Ron asked Harry.

Harry stared around at all of them. "Fine, whatever, but how do we get to the Ministry?"

"We fly of course," Luna said, speaking for the first time in a while.

"Fly?" Harry asked, as Luna pointed to a space behind them.

Harry whirled around. "Oh, I get it," he said. Neville was nodding his head as well.

"Okay, are you three saying we're going to use that tree to fly to the Ministry?" Ron asked.

"No, Ron, we're going to fly on thestrals," Harry said.

"Oh, those freaky things Hagrid taught us about? The ones that can only be seen by people who have seen death?"

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"Well, it's the only plan we've got," Auden said, moving forward with her hands outstretched.

Harry chuckled, grabbed her hand, and led her to a thestral. "I'll give you a leg up," he said. "One, two, three."

Auden then found herself sitting on something and she could feel it beneath her, but she couldn't see anything. It was the strangest thing.

Harry and Neville were now helping Ron, Ginny, and Hermione onto their own thestrals. Luna was sitting on her own thestral, but to Auden it looked like she was floating in mid-air.

"Ready, everyone?" Harry asked.

At once, the thestrals flew into the air. Auden leaned forward and grabbed what she guessed was the thestral's neck. As they flew higher and higher, Auden decided that she definitely preferred being on a broom.

She wasn't sure how the thestrals knew how to get to London, but soon enough, they were landing in front of the Ministry of Magic. Harry led them to the telephone booth and they all crammed inside.

"Someone press the numbers 62442 on the telephone," Harry instructed. Neville's arm reached over Auden's head to press the buttons.

"State your names and your mission," it said.

"Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Auden Parker, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom. We're here to rescue someone," Harry said quickly and urgently.

Eight badges dropped from the coin slot and Harry passed them around as the telephone booth began to sink lower and lower into the ground.

Once they had reached the Atrium, Harry took off running and the rest of them followed. He seemed to know exactly where they were going. They took the lift down the one of the lower levels and raced down a long hallway until they reached the door at the very end.

They were now in a circular room filled with doors. It took them a few tries to get to the room Harry was looking for, which was a room filled with shelves upon shelves of glass balls.

"He should be this way," Harry said. "At the end of row 97."

They ran until they reached row 97, but nobody was there. There was no Sirius, no Voldemort, no anybody. Harry looked defeated and embarrassed. "He was right here," he whispered.

"Maybe they moved to a different room?" Auden asked, halfheartedly.

"Harry, look, this has got your name on it," Neville said, pointing to a small label in front of one of the glass balls. Harry stepped forward to read it before reaching up to take the smooth, round, object.

"Very good, Potter, now hand that over to me," said a low voice from behind them. They spun around to see Lucius Malfoy standing there with his hand outstretched.

Auden tried to back up a few steps but she bumped into another Death Eater. They were coming from all sides and surrounding them, blocking them from escaping. They were trapped.

* * *

**A/N: The lyric in the title is from **_**The Great Escape**_** by Boys Like Girls. Reviews would be awesome. I appreciate every single one of them :)**


	14. Chapter 14: Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Auden and the rest of her friends were standing in a circle, facing outward, their wands pointed at the approaching Death Eaters. Harry was facing Lucius Malfoy, Auden standing on his left, and Neville on his right.

"If you do anything to us, I'll break it," Harry said, holding up the prophecy held tightly in his hand.

Just then, they heard a cackle from the darkness behind Malfoy. "He knows how to play," said Bellatrix Lestrange as she appeared at Malfoy's shoulder.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville whispered. Auden glanced at him. She knew what Bellatrix had done to his parents.

"Neville Longbottom, isn't it?" Bellatrix sneered. "How's mum and dad?"

"Better now that they're about to be avenged," Neville said, raising his wand, but Harry pushed his arm down.

"Everyone calm down," Lucius Malfoy said quietly. "All we want is that prophecy."

"Then why did Voldemort send me to come get it?" Harry asked.

As Malfoy began to answer, Harry turned his head slightly towards Auden and nudged her with his elbow. "When I say to," he said out of the corner of his mouth, "break the prophecies on the shelves. Pass it on."

Auden turned to Ginny who was on her left and whispered Harry's message into her ear. The message had no sooner reached Neville, when Harry yelled "Now!"

Everyone began running in different directions as they cast spells at the shelves of prophecies. Auden was running as fast as she could down an aisle. She didn't know where any of the others were. A Death Eater appeared at the end of the aisle. Auden stupefied him and quickly turned left.

She almost ran into Harry as she raced towards the door they had come through. He was with Neville and Hermione. The four of them ran through the door and slammed it shut.

"Where are the others?" Harry asked, gasping for breath.

"I don't know," Auden answered, clutching her side.

There was suddenly pounding on the door. "I think they're in here!" yelled a voice.

They for cover under tables and chairs as a few Death Eaters blasted through the door into the room.

Harry began crawling out from one of the desks, but Auden saw Hermione silently wave her wand and Stupefied one of the Death Eaters. The other two, turned and saw Harry on the ground. Before they could make a move, both Auden and Harry had yelled each Stupefied one of them.

"This way!" Harry yelled, racing towards the next room. Before Hermione could shut the door, it was thrown open by two more Death Eaters.

"Impedimenta!" they both yelled and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Auden were thrown backwards. Auden and Neville both flew over a table and hit the floor. Auden heard Hermione cast the silencing charm at one Death Eater and Harry use Petrificus Totalus on the other. He collapsed to the floor, unable to move.

Auden crawled out from behind the table just in time to see the Death Eater who had been charmed silent flick his wand at Hermione, who collapsed, unconscious. Auden let out a scream as Harry crawled quickly to Hermione's side.

Neville was attempting to crawl towards Hermione as well, but in his hurry, he hit Auden's wand out of her hand with his knee and it rolled across the floor. She flung herself forwards onto her stomach to get it, her right hand outstretched. Her fingers were inches away from grabbing it when the foot of one of the Death Eaters came down on her wrist. Auden heard a crack and a minute later, she felt pain shooting up her arm. She looked up to see the Death Eater smirking above her.

She quickly rolled over and grabbed her wand with her other hand. "Stupefy!" she yelled, but since she was using her left hand, her aim wasn't as good and the spell sailed over the Death Eaters shoulder. Auden began sliding herself backwards using her legs, since one wrist was broken and the other hand was pointing her wand at the Death Eater.

Auden backed up until she was in front of Neville, Harry, and the unconscious Hermione. The Death Eater aimed a kick at her, but she ducked. Neville wasn't so lucky. The Death Eaters foot sailed through Neville's wand, breaking it in half, before hitting his face.

"Ow!" Neville yelled, grabbing his nose in pain. Blood was dripping past his hands and down to his chin.

"Oh, Neville, that was my fault, I didn't know you were right behind me," Auden said, clutching her wrist in her other hand.

"It's okay," Neville said, moving his hand away to reveal his broken nose.

The Death Eater was now staring down at Harry, pointing his wand in his face. He gestured at the prophecy Harry was miraculously still holding.

"Whaddever you do, don't gib it to him," Neville said.

Before Harry could do anything, a crash came from the other room, distracting the Death Eater.

"Petrificus Totalus!" Harry yelled, taking the opportunity. The Death Eater fell to the floor, unable to move an inch.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked Auden.

"Fine," she managed to get out through gritted teeth. The pain in her wrist was finally registering. "What's wrong with Hermione?"

Neville scooted over to Hermione and grabbed her wrist. "She has a pulse."

"Are you sure?" Harry asked.

"Positive," Neville answered, wiping his bleeding nose with his sleeve.

"Neville, I want you and Auden to take Hermione to the exit. We aren't too far away. Get out of here before any more Death Eaters come."

"What about you?" Auden asked.

"I'm going to find the others," said Harry.

"We're going to find dem wid you," Neville said.

"Yeah, Harry, we're not leaving you to fight off everyone alone," Auden added.

"Your wrist is broken, and Hermione-,"

"I have another wrist that's working perfectly," Auden said, holding up her good arm.

"And we can carry Hermione," Neville said. "I'll do it." He was already lifting Hermione onto his shoulders.

When they were ready, Harry led the way out of the room and into the circular room with all the doors leading off of it.

"Which way?" asked Auden, her face pale from the throbbing pain in her wrist.

Before Harry could answer, one of the doors opened and Ron, Ginny, and Luna ran out, slamming the door shut behind them.

"Thank goodness," Auden sighed. "What happened?" She noticed Ginny sliding to the ground, clutching her ankle and Ron crawling on the ground, looking zoned out. Luna was the only one looking unhurt.

"I think Ginny broke her ankle," Luna reported. "We were in a room full of planets. It was very strange. Ron, though, I don't know what they hit him with…"

Luna trailed off as Ron crawled forward and grabbed Harry's robes. "Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" Ron was giggling oddly and he had blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus!"

Auden let out a giggle. She couldn't help it, but she stopped when she noticed that nobody else had laughed.

"What happened to you guys?" Luna asked, gazing around at Neville carrying Hermione and Auden's crooked wrist she was holding across her stomach.

"Auden broke her wrist, I broke my nose, and Hermione, well, we don't know what happened," Neville said.

"We need to get out of here," Harry said. "I'll grab Ron. Luna, can you get Ginny?"

Luna nodded and helped Ginny up.

"Pick a door," Harry said to Auden, as Ron poked one of Auden's earrings and giggled weakly as it dangled back and forth.

"That one," Auden said, pointing at a door straight ahead of them. They had almost reached it when Bellatrix Lestrange barged through a door behind them.

"Get them!" she yelled.

Before Bellatrix could take another step, Harry pulled everyone into the room, slammed the door, and locked it. They were in a room where a large glass tub held things that looked like human brains. The room also had doors lining the walls.

Auden, Harry, Luna and Neville ran around, sealing the doors. As Luna approached the last one, it was thrown open by a Death Eater and Luna was thrown backwards. She slid across a table and fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Luna!" Auden yelled.

"Hey, there are brains in here!" Ron cried, standing up shakily. "Isn't that weird? Ha ha, brains!"

"Yes, Ron, brains," Auden said, as Harry dove out of the way of Bellatrix's outstretched hand as she lunged forward to grab him.

"Can I have one?" Ron asked, taking Auden's hand with both of his own. Auden winced. He had grabbed her hand with the broken wrist.

"No, Ron, you can't have one, although, heaven knows, you do need one sometimes."

Ron raised his wand. "I want one, they look cool." And before Auden could stop him, he yelled "Accio brain!"

It seemed like everything was in slow motion. Everyone stopped what they were doing to watch as one of the brains flew from the tank before gliding towards Ron.

"Ooh, how weird," Ron said, holding out his hands and grabbing the brain. At once, the tentacles attached to the brain began to wrap themselves around Ron's arms.

"Ron, drop the brain!" Auden yelled. Ron did as she said, but the brain didn't go anywhere. It just hung there as the tentacles made their way up to Ron's chest.

"Get it off, I don't like this!" Ron said.

Harry began yelling different spells but none worked. Ron was now on the floor, trying to break free.

"Harry, he'll suffocate!" yelled Ginny, from the floor. The room was silent for a minute, before a Death Eater shot a Stunning spell at Ginny, knocking her unconscious.

"And then there were three," Harry said, sighing, as he dodged another Stunning spell.

"Stupefy!" Auden yelled, sending a jet of red light towards a Death Eater, but it missed him. She wished she could have at least broken her other wrist so that her aim could have been better.

Harry was darting through another door, and Auden followed him, Neville right behind her. They both stopped short, as they saw Harry, surrounded by Death Eaters, including Bellatrix and Lucius. They were standing by a huge veil in the center of the room.

"It's ten against one, Potter," Lucius was saying.

"No, it's not," Neville yelled, making his way towards them. Auden followed him.

One of the Death Eaters grabbed Neville and pinned his arms to his sides as another grabbed Auden. She screamed in pain as he roughly grabbed her broken wrist.

"Hmm, let's play a little game, shall we?" Bellatrix said, circling around Neville and Auden. "Let's see how long he'll last," she pointed at Neville, "before he cracks like his parents. And just so the girl won't be left out, we can include her. Whoever cracks first, gets a lifetime spot in the St. Mungo's mental ward! Unless Potter will give us the prophecy."

Auden saw Harry's hand, the one holding the prophecy, twitch towards Malfoy.

"Don't, Harry!" Neville warned.

Bellatrix turned her wand on Neville. "Crucio!" Neville screamed and squeezed his eyes shut. The Death Eater holding him dropped him and he fell to the ground.

"Your turn," Bellatrix sneered as she pointed her wand at Auden. "Unless Potter's changed his mind about that prophecy, of course."

Harry was holding out the prophecy towards Malfoy, who reached out to grab it, but before he could, the door burst open and Sirius, Lupin, Moody, Tonks, and Kingsley were there. Auden fell to the ground as the Death Eater dropped her. Whether it was intentional or an accident as she tried to run, she didn't know, but she felt Bellatrix's foot connect with her ribs and from the pain, she figured one of them had cracked.

"Auden, run, get out of here," Sirius said, kneeling beside her and helping her up. "We've got this under control."

"I can't leave," Auden whimpered.

"Go," Sirius said, pushing her gently before running to duel one of the Death Eaters.

Auden wasn't leaving. There was no way. Clutching her bad hand around her cracked rib, she ran to help Tonks. She was distracted in the middle of the duel by two things that happened at once. Dumbledore arrived, and ran towards Harry, and Lupin was diving towards Sirius. He tackled him to the floor just as Bellatix's Killing Curse sailed over their heads.

"How did you know that would happen?" Sirius asked, breathlessly.

"Instincts, I guess," Lupin breathed, standing and helping Sirius to his feet as well. "I knew she was aiming to kill and I acted fast."

Auden took the sudden end to the fighting to lower herself to the ground. She felt like everything hurt and helping Tonks in the duel probably hadn't helped much.

She noticed that the Aurors were making sure the Death Eaters couldn't escape and that Harry and Dumbledore were leaving the room.

"Stay here," Tonks whispered, as Auden got up to follow them.

"Why? I want to see what's happening," Auden said. And before Tonks could grab her, Auden was following Harry and Dumbledore from the room, her arm still clutching her ribs and her breathing coming in gasps.

She stopped in the lobby of the Ministry. Harry and Dumbledore were there, but they weren't alone. Voldemort was there as well. Auden had never seen Voldemort before, and she couldn't stop herself from staring. He was terrifying, with small, slit-like, red eyes, and slits for nostrils.

"I have alerted the Aurors and the members of the Order. They're coming now," Dumbledore was saying.

"By then, I will be gone, and you, dead," Voldemort said, his voice nothing more than a hiss.

Dumbledore pushed Harry aside, behind a pillar and yelled to Auden to get down. She did as he said and crawled to sit beside Harry as Dumbledore and Voldemort began to duel. Once, Harry moved forward as if to try and help, but Auden pulled him back. There was no way any magic Harry knew could measure up to the kind of magic Dumbledore and Voldemort were performing. It was both horrifying and mesmerizing at the same time.

* * *

"We did pretty good today, George," Fred said, smiling happily, as he and George closed the shop. Running their own shop was still a pretty new concept, but the twins were getting used to it. They were also getting used to the crowds of customers, which seemed to grow every day.

"I have to agree, Fred," George answered, locking the door. "And now, I think some Exploding Snap would be a great, relaxing end to the day."

"Excellent," Fred replied. "Let's go."

As they reached their flat, there was a pop as Mr. Weasley appeared, looking nervous.

"Ah, dad, we just closed for today," Fred said.

"But, don't worry, since you're family we can bend the rules a little," George said.

"That's not why I'm worried," Mr. Weasley said, waving his hand dismissively.

"What's up?" George asked, realizing something was seriously wrong.

"Death Eaters are at the Ministry. They were trying to steal a prophecy and the word is, You-Know-Who is expected to arrive as well," Mr. Weasley said, sitting down at the table.

"That's terrible," George said, as he and Fred sat down as well.

"There's more," Mr. Weasley said, inspecting his thumb before looking up at the twins. "Harry's there. He was under the impression that You-Know-Who was holding Sirius captive so he went to save him. Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Auden went with him."

"Auden's there?" Fred asked, his eyes widening as Mr. Weasley nodded. "Is she okay? Is she alive?"

"We don't know," Mr. Weasley whispered. "Snape contacted a few of the Aurors that were in the Order and they went down immediately to help. Dumbledore wrote to the rest of the Order a little bit later explaining what was happening and saying he was going over there himself to sort it out."

"When was this?" asked George.

"Almost two hours ago," Mr. Weasley answered, checking his watch. "Dumbledore said he'd write when he got everything sorted out to let us know what the outcome is."

"You're just telling us now?" Fred asked, angrily, as he stood up to pace. "George and I could have helped."

"No," Mr. Weasley shook his head. "I didn't want you to panic. You have a business to run, anyway."

"The fact that my girlfriend is fighting Death Eaters at the Ministry and may or may not be dead is more important right now!" Fred exclaimed.

"Fred," George started.

"If it was Katie, you'd react the same way," Fred said, his voice becoming gentler.

"Oh, that reminds me," Mr. Weasley said slowly. "Dumbledore wrote me another letter, shortly after you two left school. He said Katie and Auden didn't want to tell you, but I think you should know."

"Know what?" George asked.

Fred felt himself tense. He could tell from his father's tone that this wasn't going to be good.

"After you left," Mr. Weasley began. "Umbridge wanted to find information about where you were. She also thought Auden and Katie were in on your plan and the swamp prank."

"They were," Fred said. "Well, they knew about it, but they didn't help plan it or anything."

"Still, she thought she should punish them," Mr. Weasley said.

"They're used to writing lines with that quill," George said. "That doesn't make it any better, but Katie and Auden can handle it."

"She didn't make them use the quill. She hung them from their wrists in the dungeons."

"She what?" Fred and George yelled at once. This time, George stood up and overturned his chair in the process.

"Please, sit down, they're both fine," Mr. Weasley said.

"That's not the point," Fred yelled furiously. "Why didn't they tell us? I would've gone down there and hexed that old toad!"

"I expect that's why they didn't say anything," Mr. Weasley said. "Now, please sit down."

Fred and George were both breathing heavily, but they sat down. Fred ran his hands over his face as his blood pounded in his ears. "I can't believe she punished them because of us," he whispered. "I had no idea leaving would put them in danger."

"They're safe, Fred," Mr. Weasley told him. "Actually, writing with that quill for hours seems more painful than being hung in the dungeons for thirty minutes. I expect that was still uncomfortable, but-"

"I don't know for sure if Auden's safe, though," Fred interrupted, lost in his own thoughts. "If she went off to the Ministry like you said..." He trailed off and groaned before burying his head in his hands.

"There's actually one more thing," Mr. Weasley said, clearing his throat. "Umbridge broke Auden's necklace that you gave her."

"What?" Fred said menacingly. He looked up at his father as he got angry all over again.

"Katie went back later and got the parts to it," Mr. Weasley added quickly. "She sent them to me and told me to give them to you in hopes that you could fix it. She found out I was going to come here tonight to update you on the Ministry situation, so she hurried to the Owlery to send the necklace to me. Auden doesn't know about this, though, so you should surprise her." Mr. Weasley half smiled as he produced the pieces of Auden's necklace and gave them to Fred. He felt his throat constricting as he took them. He hoped Umbridge suffered terribly for what she did.

Just then, an owl flew through the window and dropped a letter on the table. Mr. Weasley got to it first and read it quickly.

"What does it say?" George asked eagerly.

Mr. Weasley sighed with relief. "Everyone's alive. The prophecy You-Know-Who was after got smashed. The Minister arrived just in time to see You-Know-Who before he vanished. He knows the truth now, there's no way he can deny his return any longer."

Fred and George had both sighed with relief at the news that everyone was alive, but Mr. Weasley was still speaking.

"It says here that Hermione, Tonks and Luna are all unconscious, but are expected to be fine, Ginny has a broken ankle, Neville a broken nose, Ron was attacked by…brains? And Auden has a broken wrist and a cracked rib, but other than that she's fine. Madam Pomfrey will be able to fix her up in no time at all."

Fred nodded and leaned back in his chair once more. "Can we go visit her?"

"I don't think so," Mr. Weasley said. "Things are crazy enough at Hogwarts with term ending and everything, and it's going to be more hectic for them after what just happened. You can meet us at the train station in two days."

Fred and George both nodded. "We'll be there," they said together.

* * *

As Auden stepped off the Hogwarts Express two days later, she couldn't have felt more excited. Even though things were bound to get worse now that the Minister knew that Voldemort was back, she couldn't wait to see Fred. It had been almost three months since she had seen him in person and she missed him terribly.

Harry, Hermione, Auden, Ron, and Ginny stepped off the train together and searched the crowd. Ginny spotted their families first and they all squeezed through the crowd to get to them. Tonks, Sirius, Lupin, and Moody were there as well. Auden was able to notice that Fred and George weren't there yet before her mother pulled her into a tight hug.

"Hello, mum, good to see you, too," Auden said.

"I was so worried when I heard," her mother gasped.

"Now, Renee, give the girl some air," Mr. Parker said.

"Thanks dad," Auden smiled.

Her dad grinned before he finished his sentence. "So I can hug her, too." Then, he was hugging Auden as hard as he could.

Auden had to endure crushing hugs from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley as well. She really wasn't complaining, though. It was good to see them again.

"Move out of the way, coming through!" Auden heard a familiar voice yell as she let go of Mrs. Weasley. She looked up to see Fred and George running towards them, jumping over carts and suitcases.

Auden laughed and ran towards Fred as fast as she could. When she reached him, she flung herself into his arms, throwing her legs around his waist. He spun her around and she giggled into his ear. People were staring, but she didn't care.

"Hi, George," she said, smiling, when Fred had put her down.

"Hi, Aud," he said, giving her a hug. "Are you alright?"

"Perfectly fine," Auden said, giving them a twirl to show that she wasn't hurt.

"Good," George smiled. "I'll leave you two alone to catch up. Meanwhile, I see Katie over there and I think I'm going to go see if she still remembers me after all this time."

Auden laughed as George jogged off towards Katie.

"So, you're sure you're okay?" Fred asked, taking Auden's hand and staring at her as if he expected to see her covered in gaping wounds.

"I'm fine. Madam Pomfrey can mend bones in a second," Auden said. "You should know that. Remember your second year when you broke your finger during Quidditch practice?"

Fred nodded. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot."

Auden rolled her eyes. "I read the letter you wrote home to your mother. You thought you were so cool," she joked.

"I had battle wounds from saving the Quidditch team from those terrible Bludgers," Fred said, smiling. Then his smile faltered. "Aud?"

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Why didn't you tell me about what Umbridge did to you after I left?"

Auden looked down and began twirling the ring her mother had given here four years ago around her finger. Fred knew what that meant. She was nervous. "You weren't around," she whispered.

"Auden," Fred said sternly. He reached out and tilted her chin up. "You could've easily contacted me. There was no excuse."

"You're angry," Auden whispered.

Fred's expression softened. "No," he said quietly. "I just wish you would have told me. I had to hear it from my dad that Umbridge hung you from your _wrists_ in the dungeon."

"I didn't want you to come back and be in danger. Umbridge was furious. If I told you what she did, you would have come right back."

"Yeah, I would have," Fred answered. "I would have come back in a heartbeat."

"I couldn't risk you getting in trouble."

"You're more important."

Auden opened her mouth to protest, but Fred silenced her with a kiss.

"I've missed you," she whispered when they broke apart.

Fred smiled at her affectionately. "I've missed you too. So, so much. Oh, and by the way," he added, "I have something for you." He reached into his pocket and pulled out Auden's necklace, as good as new.

"You got me a new one?" Auden asked in surprise.

"No, it's the same one as before," Fred grinned. "Katie snuck back to get the pieces and she sent them to my dad who gave them to me. I fixed it for you."

Auden was speechless as she turned around and allowed Fred to put the necklace around her neck. She touched it gingerly before turning around and hugging Fred as tightly as she could. "I love you."

"I love you, too," he answered, kissing her forehead.

"How's the shop going?" Auden asked as they walked back to their families.

"Great," Fred said. "Our assistant, Verity's in charge today. She's very good at handling everything. I could take you back for a visit today if you'd like."

"Really, would you?" Auden asked eagerly.

"Now, Auden, don't you want to go home, unpack and rest?" her mother asked.

Auden pretended to consider it. "No," she said, smiling.

Her mother sighed. "Well, I tried," she said. "I'll take your trunk home for you."

"Go on, have fun, but not too much fun," Mr. Parker said, pointing a warning finger at Fred.

"Dad," Auden groaned, rolling her eyes as she grabbed Fred's arm. "Let's go," she said.

"Tell George to meet me at the shop," Fred said to his mother, who nodded.

Fred looked down at Auden and smiled before turning on the spot and whisking her away to number ninety three Diagon Alley.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is the song **_**Hit Me With Your Best Shot**_** by Pat Benatar.**

**I appreciate all reviews and I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, added me to their author alert/favorite authors, and added one or both of my stories to their story alert/favorite stories.**


	15. Chapter 15: You Make Me Smile

Fred brought Auden to a spot a little way down the street from the shop. "I want you to see it from the outside," he said. "It's all decorated now."

Auden hadn't been there since February, before Fred and George had even moved in and opened the shop. As the building came into view, Auden's mouth fell open. Everything about it was so bright, the other buildings seemed to dim in comparison. The windows on either side of the door were filled with Weasley products that were spinning, flying, and exploding. The Weasley's Wizard Wheezes sign was shining in bright letters above the door.

"This is incredible!" Auden said, leaning forward to inspect one of the window displays. At the back hung a purple sign with bright yellow words. "Why are you worrying about You-Know-Who?" Auden read. "You should be worrying about You-No-Poo, the constipation sensation that's gripping the nation." She began laughing. "That's great," she said as she caught her breath.

Fred was grinning at her. "If you think the outside is great, wait until you see the inside." He took her hand and led her through the front door. A bell tinkled, but Auden barely heard it over the noise inside the shop. It was beyond crowded. People of all ages were running around, examining products, and making purchases.

"Wow," Auden breathed as a man ran by her as he chased his young son, who was waving a trick wand.

"Do you like it?" Fred asked.

"I love it!" Auden exclaimed. "Has anyone else from your family seen it?"

"Dad came to once after we closed for the day. It was actually the day he came to tell us about what happened at the Ministry, but he Apparated right into our flat so he hasn't seen the shop yet. Other than him, nobody else has seen it."

"They'll love it, you know. You and George are geniuses."

Fred's grin grew even larger. "Come on, I'll give you a tour." He led Auden around the shop, pointing out the shelves of Decoy Detonators, Skiving Snackboxes, trick wands, trick cauldrons, love potions, and even an area of Muggle magic tricks.

"The Muggle magic tricks actually sell pretty well," Fred said, picking up a deck of cards from the shelf. "The profit we made from those paid for this jacket." He brushed some lint off the shoulder of the jacket.

"What's this made out of?" Auden asked, lifting Fred's arm by the sleeve of his coat. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Dragon skin," Fred answered, grinning.

Auden's eyes widened. "Wow, really spiffy," she said, an impressed smile lighting up her face.

"Ah, Mr. Weasley, you're here," said a girl wearing bright magenta robes as she ran up to Fred and Auden. "We're running low on Puking Pastils and they need to be restocked. I can restock them, but we'll need someone on the register."

"I can restock them. Don't worry about it, just continue working the register," Fred said. "Oh, Auden, this is Verity, our assistant. Verity, this is Auden."

"Hello," Verity said, holding out her hand.

"Hi," Auden said, shaking Verity's hand.

"So I finally get to meet the Auden that Fred never shuts up about," Verity said with a smile.

Auden blushed. "He never shuts up about me?"

"Nope," Verity replied. "Well, I better go, there's a huge line of people waiting to be checked out."

"You told her about me?" Auden asked as Verity hustled away.

"Of course," Fred said, leading Auden to a back room. "Want to help me restock the Puking Pastils?"

"Sure," Auden answered as Fred lifted a box from the shelf and handed it to her before reaching for another box. "What did you tell her about me?"

"Just how annoying you are and how much you smell," Fred joked as they crossed the shop to the shelves of Puking Pastils.

"That's funny, because I tell people the same thing about you," Auden said, putting the box on the floor and ripping it open.

"You flatter me," Fred grinned. "But you probably shouldn't brag about me too much to other people. They might get jealous."

Auden rolled her eyes and swatted his arm.

"You know, you could always move in here with us, like I said before," Fred said, suddenly serious.

"You know I would in a heartbeat, but first of all do you even have enough room? And secondly, I don't know how my parents would feel about that. They'd still think I'm too young to be living with my boyfriend." She rolled her eyes.

"We have plenty of room," Fred said. "The flat is practically a mansion."

"Oh, really? How many bedrooms are there?" Auden asked.

"Er, two," Fred answered.

"Just what I thought," Auden smirked.

Auden stayed at the shop until it closed. George arrived a few hours after she had and Auden had helped him and Fred with little chores around the shop. She was just wiping down the front counter when Fred came up behind her.

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist and nuzzling into her neck.

"I'd love to," Auden grinned, leaning backwards into him. "Are you cooking?"

"Yeah, right, the only thing I can cook is spaghetti," Fred said, laughing.

"I don't mind. I love spaghetti," Auden said, looking up at him.

"Well, I guess I could if you really want me to," Fred answered slowly.

"Yeah, I'll even help you. You know, remind you to stir it," Auden said, grinning and taking Fred's hand. She pulled him up the stairs to the flat and helped get out all the pots.

"You're cooking?" George asked as he came up the stairs a few minutes later.

"Yeah, Auden wanted spaghetti," Fred said as he rummaged around in a drawer.

"You know, Aud, he wouldn't be doing this if you weren't here," George said, opening a butterbeer and leaning against the counter.

"That doesn't surprise me," Auden said, taking George's butterbeer from him and taking a sip before handing it back.

"That's because normally it's just me and George here and since neither one of us can really cook, we just either pick stuff up or make something really easy. Like salad," Fred said, reaching for George's butterbeer as well.

"We've learned to not take our mum's cooking for granted," George added, darting around the room holding his butterbeer out of Fred's reach.

"She'd love to hear you say that," Auden laughed.

"Don't say anything to her, she'll think it's the end of the world," Fred grinned, finally locating a pot and setting it on the stove.

Auden smiled as she began opening cupboards, looking for the plates so that she could set the table and do something to help out.

"What are you looking for?" Fred asked.

"Plates, unless you want to eat off the table or straight out of the pot," Auden said.

"It would save time with dishwashing," Fred shrugged as Auden rolled her eyes and continued opening cupboards.

"They're in the second top cupboard from the left," George chuckled as he left the kitchen for the living room. "Meanwhile, I'm going to go kick my feet up while you two slave away in here."

"Great. Thanks, George," Auden giggled as she found the plates and set them on the table. Then she helped Fred make dinner, even though he insisted he could do it himseslf. By the time everything was ready and the three of them had finished eating, it was rather late.

"I should probably be getting back home. You have Floo Powder, right?" Auden asked, glancing towards the fireplace.

"I could Apparate you home," Fred said. "I wish you didn't have to go, though." He walked over and wrapped his arms around her.

"I wish you didn't have to go either," George added, walking across the room and wrapping his arms around both Auden and Fred.

Auden laughed. "Group hug," she said hugging the twins tightly.

"Come on, I'll take you home," Fred said as they all let go of each other. He grabbed Auden's hand and within a few seconds they were standing at her front door.

"It feels weird not living there anymore," Fred said, looking over at the Burrow.

"I can imagine," Auden said, looking into Fred's face.

"I'm going to miss just walking over to your house whenever I feel like it."

"Only now you can just Apparate to my house whenever you feel like it," Auden said.

"True," Fred answered, nodding. "Except for when I'm working and you're in school, which actually takes up a huge chunk of time." He sighed. "Couldn't you have just graduated Hogwarts two years early and convinced your parents to let you move in with me?"

"I wish," Auden sighed. She leaned up and kissed him gently, sighing as he wrapped his arms around her waist. After a few minutes, they reluctantly let go of each other and Fred promised to visit again soon before he Apparated back to the shop.

Auden stood in the yard, staring at the spot where Fred had disappeared before she let herself into the house. It was quiet, so she assumed everyone was in bed, until she heard a voice that made her jump.

"Did you have fun?"

Auden whirled around to see her mom sitting in the living room, reading a book.

"Yeah," Auden answered, stopping in the doorway.

"What's the shop like?"

"It's amazing, Mum," Auden sighed. "You have no idea."

"I'm sure it is. Did you eat?"

"Fred cooked spaghetti," Auden answered.

"Fred cooked? Did he remember to stir it?" Auden's mother asked, smirking from behind her book.

"Yes, he did a great job. I helped, though, just in case," Auden grinned.

"Does he know how to cook anything besides spaghetti?" Mrs. Parker asked.

Auden thought for a second. "Salad," she replied.

Her mother sighed and closed her book, setting it down on the table beside her chair. "Someone needs to teach that boy how to cook."

"Have fun with that," Auden said, turning to leave.

"I meant you," her mother called. "I'll let you borrow one of my cookbooks and you can teach him how to make some normal food. Not that there's anything wrong with spaghetti and salad."

"I guess that sounds pretty fun," Auden said. Truthfully, anything with Fred was fun, but she was a little skeptical about how the two of them cooking a regular meal would go. Something told her there would be some type of mistake or accident.

"It'll be a cooking date!" Mrs. Parker grinned, looking excited.

"No, Mum, it won't be," Auden answered, looking at her mother as if she had twelve heads. "Goodnight," she said breaking into a smile.

"Goodnight, honey," her mother answered, picking up her book again.

* * *

As usual, Auden spent her summer days mainly with the Weasleys. It was strange without Fred and George around and the Burrow was strangely silent without the random noises and explosions coming from their bedroom, but Auden almost learned to get used to it after a while. She still got to occasionally visit Fred and George at work, but those instances weren't all that frequent since she couldn't Apparate yet and she didn't want to bother the twins with having them come to get her. The two of them did stop by the Burrow for dinner about once or twice a week, though, so Auden was always glad to see them then.

Instead, Auden spent most of her time hanging out with Ron. Once Hermione arrived in the middle of July, the three of them were inseparable. Harry was supposed to arrive sometime in mid-August and until then, Auden, Ron and Hermione wrote letters to him almost every week. They knew how much he hated being stuck with his Muggle relatives.

Bill had also returned from Egypt early in the summer. He had been spending a lot of time with Fleur Delacour ever since the Triwizard Tournament had ended and he had been bringing her around for dinner a lot. It was kind of strange, really. Auden hadn't really expected Fleur to be sticking around and she hadn't expected her to hit it off so well with Bill. But then again, Auden didn't really know her all that well and maybe this was an opportunity to change that.

Two days before Harry was supposed to arrive, Bill was expected to come over for dinner with Fleur, and Fred and George were expected to come as well. Mrs. Weasley had insisted that Auden and her parents also join them. Even Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were going to stop by.

"We won't all be able to fit in the house, so we'll be eating outside," Mrs. Weasley said, handing Auden a stack of plates, Ginny a pile of silverware, and Hermione a pile of napkins and glasses. "Would you three mind setting the table?"

"Not at all, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said.

Ron and Mr. Weasley were outside putting tables together to accommodate the large number of expected guests. Once they were done, Auden, Hermione, and Ginny set the table.

"I wonder what Bill's news could be?" Ginny asked as she placed forks and knives on the table.

"Bill has news?" asked Auden. She hadn't known that and she was certainly curious.

"How do you know?" Hermione asked.

"I head mum talking about it to dad. Bill wrote to them last week saying he had news and wanted the whole family together to talk about it. Well, except Charlie who can't be here."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a minute. "I wonder…?" she began, looking from Auden to Ginny.

"You don't think?" Auden said, her eyes widening as she realized what Hermione was getting at. Had Bill proposed to Fleur?

"Not him and Fleur the Phlegm!" Ginny gasped. She hated Fleur and come to think of it, Mrs. Weasley wasn't too fond of her either. Auden kind of felt bad. Maybe Fleur could be sort of prissy on some occasions, but she at least deserved a chance.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Hermione said, going back to putting napkins next to everyone's plate.

The three girls went back to the kitchen to find that Remus, Tonks and Sirius had arrived. "You know, Tonks, dear," Mrs. Weasley was saying. "You should get to know Bill a little bit more. I know that long hair of his might throw you off, but I think you two would have a lot in common. He insists that he keep his hair at that horrid length. He won't let me cut it."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Mum's been trying to get Bill and Tonks to date ever since he began dating Fleur. I expect she'd rather have Tonks in the family and I have to say I agree with her."

Tonks was politely smiling at Mrs. Weasley as Remus looked slightly nervous and annoyed at Mrs. Weasley's words. Sirius gave a barking laugh and clapped Lupin on the back before snatching a piece of bread and walking away.

"That bread is for dinner, Sirius," Mrs. Weasley scolded.

"Sorry," Sirius said, his mouth full, as he turned to leave the room.

Auden gave him a questioning look as he passed her. "What was that about?"

"What was what about?" he asked.

"That whole thing," Auden gestured towards Lupin.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Sirius grinned and shrugged his shoulders before turning the other way to walk out to the yard.

"Sirius," Auden said, smiling.

"I expect you'll find out eventually," Sirius grinned, making his way across the yard to greet Bill and Fleur, who had just arrived.

"What are we finding out eventually?" asked a very familiar voice from behind Auden.

"Fred!" she cried, spinning around and hugging him tightly.

"You'd think you haven't seen me in ages," Fred laughed, returning the hug spinning her around.

"Two weeks is like forever," Auden said, smiling into Fred's shirt.

"I know what you mean. I was beginning to forget what you looked like," Fred joked.

Auden pulled away and made a face at him. "Well, I forgot what you looked like too," she said, trying not to smile.

"Right," Fred said, attempting to keep a straight face as well. "That's why you practically knocked me over when you hugged me."

"Oh, stop it," Auden laughed, pulling him into another hug.

"I bet she didn't forget about me," said another voice. "I am the better looking twin after all." George appeared in the doorway behind Fred and grinned.

Auden squinted at him. "No, I'm sorry, I have no idea who you are."

"I'm offended, Aud, I really am," George said, closing his eyes and putting his hand over his heart.

"You know I'm kidding, Georgie," Auden said, giving him a hug.

"Fred, George, good, you're here, now we can eat," Mrs. Weasley said, rather distractedly. "Since you three are standing in the doorway you can help me bring out the food." She hurried past them out the door towards the tables where everyone else was already sitting.

"That's if I don't eat it all first," Fred said, sniffing the air. "It smells delicious, mum."

Mrs. Weasley glanced over her shoulder and gave him a soft smile. "Thank you dear. It beats salad by a landslide I expect." She chuckled as she continued across the yard.

"You told her?" George asked Auden as the three of them grabbed pots of food off the counter.

"No, I just told my mum about how you only knew how to make two things. She must have told her. That reminds me, Fred, my mum wants us to have a 'cooking date'."

"A what?" Fred asked, wrinkling his nose.

"She wants me to teach you how to cook." They had reached the table now and they set the pots down at one end.

"Sounds boring," Fred whispered to Auden.

"Tell you what," she said as they sat down next to each other. "My mum said she'd let us use one of her cookbooks. To make it more exciting, how about we pick the most challenging recipe in there, and give it a go. It should be interesting, right?" Part of her didn't know why she had suggested that. It was a suggestion that almost guaranteed disaster, but she didn't particularly care. It _would _make things more fun and exciting and that was what she looked forward to.

"I like how you think," Fred laughed as he leaned over and gave her a quick kiss.

In the middle of dinner, Ginny, who was on Auden's other side, nudged her and pointed at Fleur. She was sitting in between Bill and Sirius and every time Sirius gave one of his loud, barking laughs, Fleur jumped about a mile into the air. Ginny and Auden giggled every time it happened.

"Ah, that was delicious, Molly," Auden's dad said, leaning back in his chair.

"I hope you saved room for dessert," Mrs. Weasley said with a smile as she began to get up.

"Wait, Mum," Bill said. "Fleur and I have an announcement to make and we want to make it right now."

Mrs. Weasley's cheery expression turned to one that looked like she had just swallowed a lemon whole, but she sat back down as Bill stood up.

"Like I said, Fleur and I would like to make an announcement." Bill reached down and grabbed Fleur's hand. "And we couldn't think of better people to share the news with first than all of you here today."

Fleur was gazing up at Bill with such love in her eyes and when Bill glanced down at her again, Auden could see how much he loved her back. It was enough to make Auden grin like an idiot and reach for Fred's hand under the table. He looked at her and she rested her head on his shoulder. He gave the back of her hand a kiss before turning back to Bill and Fleur.

"Anyway," Bill was saying now, "Fleur and I," he took a deep breath, "are going to be married. Next August to be exact."

Hermione, Mrs. Parker, and Auden squealed happily while Tonks and Lupin burst into applause, and Sirius let out a happy whoop.

"Wow, married," Ron said, looking stunned, but happy.

Fred and George jumped out of their seats and almost tackled Bill and Fleur to the ground. Auden giggled as Fred ruffled Bill's hair and he laughed as he tried to shake Fred off and ruffle his hair in return.

Mr. Weasley was hugging Fleur tightly and Auden's dad was shaking Bill's hand. Even Ginny was smiling now, but Auden guessed that the smile was only for Bill because Ginny had wrinkled her nose when the announcement had originally been made.

Only Mrs. Weasley was sitting in silence.

"Mum, did you hear me? We're getting married, Fleur and I," Bill said.

"Yes, I heard you," Mrs. Weasley said faintly. She put a smile on her face. "Congratulations, Bill dear." She got up and gave him a hug. "Will you at least let me cut your hair for the wedding?"

"No, mum," Bill said firmly.

Mrs. Weasley turned to go back to the house to get dessert, but Fleur gently cleared her throat and Mrs. Weasley turned to her. "Oh, yes, congratulations to you too," she said rather awkwardly before flashing a smile and walking quickly away.

Auden sighed. She knew Mrs. Weasley doubted that Bill and Fleur really loved each other and Auden had sometimes wondered the same thing. At least, until she saw the way Bill and Fleur looked at each other tonight. Plus, it was their life and if they wanted to get married then why shouldn't they?

Later that night, after Lupin, Tonks, and Sirius had gone home, everyone else sat in the living room of the Burrow. Fred and George were staying there that night instead of going back to their flat. Auden was sitting on the couch with Fred's head in her lap and she was gently playing with his hair.

"That feels so good," he muttered as he closed his eyes.

Auden smiled and gently trailed a finger over the edge of his ear and down his jaw.

"Can we somehow arrange for you to do this every night?" Fred sighed.

"Fine with me if it means I get to see you every night," Auden answered, looking down at him as he grinned at her. A few minutes later, Fred's eyes began to slowly close and eventually, he drifted off to sleep.

"Auden, honey, your father and I are going to go home," her mother finally said. "Are you staying here tonight?"

"Yeah, if it's okay," Auden said in a whisper, still playing with Fred's hair.

"It's fine with us, dear," Mrs. Weasley said from her chair by the fire where she was knitting happily.

Auden's parents said their goodbyes and there was silence in the living room once more after the door shut behind them. Auden looked back down at Fred and smiled softly. He looked so relaxed and innocent when he slept. He didn't look like someone with millions of devious plans forming in his mind. She gently trailed her hand over his ear and down his jaw again before lightly rubbing her thumb along the corner of his mouth. He let out a sigh in his sleep and wiggled slightly closer to her. She giggled before going back to playing with his hair. When she looked up, she saw Mrs. Weasley staring at her with a smile on her face and a soft look in her eyes. She met Auden's eyes for a few seconds before going back to her knitting. Auden also noticed that Fleur had been watching her and Mrs. Weasley's exchange with a sort of confused look on her face. Auden had no idea why Fleur had been looking at her like that. It was definitely odd.

Soon after, Ginny had fallen asleep in her chair and it was then that Mrs. Weasley suggested that everyone went up to bed.

"I'll get Ginny," Bill volunteered, picking his sister up and carrying her upstairs.

"Fred, wake up," Auden whispered softly, rubbing her thumb over his cheek.

Fred slowly blinked his eyes open. "Is it morning?"

"No, but you have to go up to your room. You fell asleep on my lap."

"Don't see the problem with that," Fred said, smiling. "Are you sleeping over?"

"Mhm," Auden nodded.

"Good," Fred answered, getting up and pulling Auden to a standing position.

"Auden, may I talk weeth you for a meenute," said Fleur, as she stood up from her chair.

"Yeah, sure," Auden asked, surprised that Fleur wanted to talk to her. She turned to Fred. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Of course," Fred answered, leaning in and kissing her gently. Auden smiled and sighed happily as Fred pulled away and went upstairs. Then, she turned to Fleur.

"What did you want to talk about?" she asked.

"Why does Beel's mother dislike me but not you?" Fleur asked, getting right to the point.

Auden blinked. She was not expecting that. "She doesn't dislike you."

"Yes, she does. She does not want Beel and I to be married. I could see it een her eyes. Then, tonight, she looked at you weeth such happiness. I look at Beel the same way you look at Fred. I love Beel weeth all of my heart."

"I know," Auden said softly. "I saw the way you looked at Bill earlier."

Fleur's expression softened. "Am I not good enough for 'er son?"

"You are. You're great for Bill. Mrs. Weasley will come around. Trust me. She can be stubborn sometimes. She just...she thinks things are moving too fast between you and Bill. She doesn't want you to make any mistakes."

"We are not making any meestakes!" Fleur exclaimed.

"I know that," Auden said. "Mrs. Weasley is just being cautious. But she'll come around. I promise."

"Thank you, Auden," Fleur said with a sigh and a small smile. "I weel see you een zee morning."

"Goodnight," Auden called as Fleur disappeared up the stairs.

Auden found herself feeling bad for Fleur as she crawled into the extra bed Mrs. Weasley had put in Ginny's room. She would never have guessed in a million years that Fleur, the beautiful girl who bravely fought through the Triwizard tournament, would ever have insecurities. Maybe her attitude needed a little work, but deep down, maybe she wasn't all that bad.

* * *

**A/N: T****he song in the title of this chapter is ****_Smile_**** by Uncle Kracker.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	16. Chapter 16: You'll Be In My Heart

Auden woke up the next morning to someone yanking the pillow out from under her and hitting her over the head with it.

"Fred did it!" she yelled as she sat up, faster than lightning.

"Well, you're quick to point fingers, aren't you?" asked Fred's voice from the end of the bed. He was sitting there, holding her pillow and smirking.

"Usually it _is_ you that did it," Auden grumbled, snatching her pillow back and falling back onto the bed.

"No, you can't go back to bed," Fred said in a singsong voice, leaning over to lightly shake her shoulder. "We're having our lovely cooking date today. Your mother is downstairs with the cookbook and my mum has graciously volunteered to lend us the kitchen. Bless her unaware little head. That kitchen's going to be a mess when we're done."

"Can't we do it later?" Auden asked, peering up at him.

"Nope, now," Fred said. He grabbed both of her hands and pulled her to a sitting position. Auden didn't bother to drop her arms after Fred let go. "You look like a zombie," Fred said, half smiling. "A very cute zombie," he added when Auden made a face at him. He leaned forward and gave her a kiss, cupping her cheek in his hand. He pulled away for a split second before going in for another quick kiss.

"If we're going to cook, you need to leave so I can get dressed," Auden said, throwing back the covers.

"I'll be downstairs," Fred said, leaning over and kissing her forehead before leaving the room.

Auden got dressed and walked into the kitchen where her mother, Fred, and Mrs. Weasley were all waiting.

"Ah, there you are," her mother said. She held up one of her favorite cookbooks. "Molly and I are going to catch up on life while you two cook us all lunch."

"Why not breakfast?" Fred asked, taking the cookbook and flipping through it.

"Because this might take a while," Mrs. Weasley said. "It does feel nice to have someone else cook for a change."

"Are you sure you're going to want to eat this when we're done?" Fred asked.

"Auden will help you," Mrs. Parker said.

"Yeah, but I've never made any of the recipes in this book," Auden said, looking over Fred's shoulder.

"That's comforting," Fred laughed.

"Besides, Fred and I agreed that we'd pick the most challenging recipe in here. You know, to make it more interesting."

"That makes me feel loads better," Auden's mother sighed.

"We'll just leave you to it, then," Mrs. Weasley said as she and Auden's mother walked into the living room. Auden just knew they were snickering to each other. Just wonderful.

"Well, then, what should we make?" Fred asked.

"Uh, how about this?" Auden said, pointing to a recipe for mushroom lasagna.

"I guess we could try it," Fred shrugged. "I'll get out the pans if you get the ingredients."

Auden agreed and walked away to get the things they needed. When she came back, she dumped everything on the counter. Fred had all the pots out and he was smirking.

"What did you do?" Auden asked at once.

"Nothing," he said innocently, shaking his head.

"You did something," she argued.

"No, I didn't," Fred answered.

"Okay, then," Auden said slowly as she began opening containers of ingredients.

Everything went smoothly until Auden moved to the sink to rinse off her hands. When she turned the faucet on, water squirted everywhere. It was all over her and all over the floor. Auden quickly turned the faucet off, and stood where she was, frozen with her mouth hanging open and her shoulders scrunched up.

"An old Muggle trick," Fred said, laughing. "An elastic band over the faucet. I've wanted to try it on someone but usually it's only mum in here cooking and she would have killed me if I tried it on her."

Auden glared at him for a few seconds longer before she started laughing as well. It _was_ kind of funny. "You're going to pay for that, Fred Weasley," she threatened. She took a step towards him, but slipped in a puddle of water. She reached out to grab something to steady herself but ended up grabbing Fred's arm. They both fell to the ground, laughing.

Auden sighed and rested her head on Fred's shoulder. They were still sitting on the floor, leaning against the cupboards and covered in water. "We should get back to the lasagna," she said.

"Okay," Fred whispered, wiping a drop of water off of Auden's nose. Then, he reached his arm up and grabbed the lasagna tray off of the counter and stuck it in the oven which was on his right.

"Well, that was easy," Auden said.

"Yeah, now we just have to wait," Fred said with a grin. He leaned over and kissed Auden slowly, moving his hand to her cheek and sliding it into her hair. Auden felt herself smiling in the middle of the kiss, causing Fred to pull away. "Something wrong?"

"No, I was smiling," she answered. "That's a good thing." She put her hand around the back of Fred's neck and pulled him back into their kiss.

"Oi, what's going on in here?" someone asked. Auden looked up. Fred was on all fours above her and she was still leaning against the cabinet with her arms around his neck. She looked around for who had spoken and saw Ron and Ginny in the doorway.

"Hi," Auden giggled as Fred let out a disappointed moan in her ear and moved away from her.

"Have you checked the oven lately?" Ginny asked, smirking.

Auden gasped. "I hope it's not burnt!" She crawled over Fred's legs and opened the oven. The lasagna was okay. It was slightly burnt on the top, but nothing too bad. "Thank goodness," she sighed.

Ron and Ginny were both laughing from the doorway. "Don't ever open a restaurant," Ginny said between giggles.

Mrs. Weasley and Auden's mom walked inside just as Auden was pulling the lasagna from the oven. Fred was setting the table.

"Why does my kitchen resemble the Atlantic Ocean?" Mrs. Weasley demanded.

"I'm not sure we want to know. Wow, that actually looks good," Auden's mom said, inspecting the lasagna.

"Yeah, that's on the outside," Fred mumbled.

"I smell food," George said, coming into the kitchen. "What's that?" he asked, pointing at the lasagna.

"Mushroom lasagna," Auden answered.

"We made it," Fred added.

"There goes my appetite," George joked, sticking his tongue out and pretending to gag. Auden swatted him with the oven mit.

Mrs. Weasley called everyone into the kitchen to eat. The lasagna did actually taste good, despite being slightly burnt. Mrs. Weasley had cleared up the water covering the floor and used a drying spell on Auden and Fred.

Dinner that night was taken over by Mrs. Weasley. Fred and Auden's semi-successful cooking adventure had been enough for the day for Fred at least.

"What time tomorrow is Harry supposed to get here?" Ron asked through a mouthful of soup.

"Dumbledore said to expect him late morning sometime," Mrs. Weasley answered, glancing at the clock in the living room that showed where every member of the family was instead of the time.

Mr. Weasley's hand on the clock was still pointing at work. He and Mr. Parker had both been working long hours at the Ministry and didn't come home until midnight most of the time.

Things were getting scary, leaving a lot for the Ministry to handle. There were mysterious disappearances, such as Bertha Jorkins, and the Ministry was doing nothing to find them. A bridge in London had collapsed, and there was a lot of fog settling all over the country. Although the Muggles didn't know it, everything related to Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

Everyone knew a war was coming, they just didn't want to say it. Saying it might confirm that it was real. Auden was scared. She hadn't admitted it to anyone, but she was. She could tell that other people were scared as well, but like her, they weren't admitting it.

* * *

Fred was playing Exploding Snap with Bill, George, and Ron when he saw Auden slip out the back door.

"Go after her," George said.

"What?" Fred asked.

"Go," Bill said. "Follow her, it's okay. You're too good at this game anyway. I might have a chance at winning now."

"I'll give you one guess where she went," Ron said absentmindedly, scratching his nose and looking down at his cards.

Fred had a pretty good idea of where Auden had gone as well, so he stood up and disappeared out the back door. He started to reach for his wand so he could get some light, but then changed his mind. He knew the way to the tree house by heart. Besides, the moon was casting a pretty good amount of light as well.

Sure enough, when he got to the tree house, he saw Auden standing on the porch looking up at the sky. She didn't seem to notice that he was there so Fred climbed the ladder and walked up next to her.

"What's up?" he asked, leaning his elbows on the railing beside her.

"Do you remember the last time we were out here?" Auden asked, still looking up at the stars.

"Yeah, it was before we were dating," Fred answered. "You showed me that drawing, and I brought you hot chocolate. And then we fell asleep out here and just barely got out of trouble."

Auden smiled. "Yeah," she whispered. "That was fun, actually."

"Mm," Fred agreed. "I really just enjoyed being out here with you. Until you got that letter from Cedric, though, and ran off to write him back."

Auden didn't answer. Instead, she sighed and dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. She still didn't really like talking about Cedric, but especially now, when she was preoccupied with the fact that a war was on its way. It had been ever since the final task of the Triwizard Tournament and Cedric had simply been the first casualty.

"Sorry, I know that's kind of a bad subject for you," Fred apologized, blushing slightly.

"No, don't worry about it," Auden said. She looked at him. "You were really jealous of Cedric, weren't you?"

"Very jealous," Fred said with a dry laugh. "He was just so perfect and I'm so...not."

"I think you're perfect," Auden said, looking at him and reaching over to take his hand.

Fred shook his head and smiled softly. "Not even close, Aud. You, on the other hand..."

Auden actually cracked a smile. "No way, Fred."

"Ah, well, I love you anyway," Fred grinned interlacing his fingers with hers and squeezing.

Auden smiled. "I wish you didn't have to go back to work tomorrow morning," she said after a pause.

"Auden, what's bothering you?" Fred asked, tugging on her hand so that she was facing him. He pulled her to him and brushed her hair from her face. "Talk to me."

"I'm scared," she whispered, resting her hands on Fred's chest and playing with the buttons of his shirt.

"Why are you scared?" Fred asked, tilting her chin up so that she was looking at him.

"There's going to be a war, Fred. We all know it. What if something terrible happens? I'm scared of losing you…of losing anyone." She looked away again as she tried to hide the look of complete worry on her face.

Fred didn't know what to say. He wanted to say everything would be alright, but there was a part of him that wasn't sure everything would be alright. He couldn't guarantee anything. He couldn't guarantee that nothing bad would happen, that a war wasn't coming, or that people wouldn't get hurt.

"Listen to me," he said finally. He lifted Auden's chin up with his finger once again. "To be honest, I don't know what's going to happen. All I know is that I don't want to lose you or anyone else I'm close to either. I'm just as worried as you are. But one thing I know for sure is even if something does happen to me, I'll still always be there for you no matter what."

Auden smiled weakly at his words. "Being here in a figurative sense isn't the same as actually being here," she said, "which is what I really want. You by my side forever."

Fred nodded. "I feel the same way," he whispered. He smiled softly. "Come on, I want to see a genuine smile, though," he prodded. "Please, for me?"

Auden looked up at him again and flashed him her beautiful smile. The kind that made his stomach do back flips. "There's the smile I was looking for," he whispered, tracing her jaw with his finger.

He saw her shiver slightly. The night was rather cool for summer. "Are you cold?" he asked.

"A little," she answered.

Fred pulled off his sweatshirt and handed it to her. "Here, put this on."

Auden pulled the sweatshirt over her head and snuggled into it, pulling the collar up to her nose as she peered at Fred over it. "Much better," she muttered through the fabric.

"Have I ever told you that you look amazing in my clothes?" Fred asked.

Auden shook her head as she continued to peer up at him.

"Well, you do," Fred whispered, stepping closer and tugging the sweatshirt away from her face. He closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. She responded almost at once, sliding her hands up his chest until they were resting on the side of his neck. Fred was vaguely aware of the fact that he had pushed her up against the tree house railing.

"We should stop," Auden finally whispered a bit reluctantly.

"Why?" Fred whispered, brushing his lips along her jaw.

"Because, Mr. Weasley," Auden grinned. "You have work tomorrow if I do remember correctly."

"I don't have to go in," Fred said, continuing to kiss her jaw. "I'm the boss of my own shop. I do what I want."

"You're going to work," Auden answered with a giggle. She managed to slide out of Fred's grasp and headed down the ladder of the tree house.

"Hey, get back here," Fred called, chasing her. She started running as soon as she got to the bottom of the ladder, but halfway across the yard, Fred caught up with her. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Put me down," Auden managed to choke out through her laughter.

"No, I want to go brag to George about the beautiful girl I just found on my way back inside," Fred said as Auden continued to laugh.

He had gotten her to laugh this time, but the fears Auden had expressed earlier were fears that a lot of people had these days. And Fred had the feeling that things would get worse before they got better.

* * *

Auden woke up early the next morning. She had slept over the Weasley's house again the night before, despite Fred and George not being there, and she could smell Mrs. Weasley's bacon and eggs all the way from Ginny's room. Once she was dressed, she made her way to the kitchen. Fleur was at the kitchen table while Mrs. Weasley cooked.

"Good morning, dear. Are you hungry?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Starving," Auden replied.

"Good, good, now sit down and eat," Mrs. Weasley said, putting a plate of bacon and eggs on the table. "I'm going to bring Harry's breakfast up to him."

"Harry's here already?" Auden asked.

"Yes, he arrived last night with Dumbledore. Earlier than he expected. He's sleeping in Fred and George's room."

"I weel breeng 'Arry hees breakfast," Fleur said, standing up. "I ave not seen heem in so long." She smiled at Mrs. Weasley, picked up the tray, and marched upstairs.

Mrs. Weasley looked furious. "I am perfectly capable of doing that myself."

"She probably thinks she's being a help," Auden said, but Mrs. Weasley wasn't listening. She was already dashing up the stairs after Fleur. Auden swallowed a forkful of eggs before following.

Fleur barged into Harry's room and Auden noticed from her view from under Mrs. Weasley's arm that Harry pulled the covers up to his neck, causing Ginny, Ron and Hermione to fall off the bed.

"'Arry!" Fleur yelled. "Eet 'as been too long." She swept forward and placed the tray on Harry's lap and kissing him on both cheeks.

Auden leaned against the doorframe and watched, grinning.

"Fleur," Harry said, still in shock.

"Yes," Fleur said. "Now, tell me, 'ow 'ave you been? I 'ave been quite busy with wedding preparations and everything."

"Wedding preparations?" Harry asked.

"You mean you didn't know?" Fleur asked. "Beel and I are to be married next summer!"

"Oh, great, congratulations," Harry said, the blankets still pulled up to his neck.

Fleur kissed his cheeks again before sweeping out of the room.

"Mum hates her," Ginny smirked.

"I do not hate her," Mrs. Weasley said. "I just think this marriage is rather rushed. It's the same as it was last time You-Know-Who was powerful. People running off and getting married left and right."

"Like you and dad?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, that's different," Mrs. Weasley said, smoothing her hair. "Your father and I were made for each other. Anyway, eat your eggs, Harry," Mrs. Weasley smiled before leaving the room.

"Hi, Auden," Harry said, digging into his eggs.

"Hello, 'Arry," Auden said, imitating Fleur with a grin.

"Ugh, I can't stand Phlegm," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"She's not that bad," Ron said.

"You just like her because she's part veela," Hermione said, looking through some of the boxes on the floor. Boxes full of old inventions by Fred and George.

"Oh yes, Ron loves how she flips her hair and says his name," Ginny said, tossing her hair around.

Auden giggled. "Maybe she's not so bad though. Maybe she's trying to fit in."

"Yeah, what she said," Ron told Ginny with a nod of his head.

"Please, that girl doesn't have to try to fit in," Ginny answered as Mrs. Weasley screamed from downstairs for Ginny to help clean up the kitchen. "I'll have to try and not step in any Phlegm," she said as she left the room.

"So, Harry, what's new?" Ron asked.

"Not much," Harry answered.

"Come on, you've been out with Dumbledore!" Ron exclaimed. "Something exciting must have happened."

"Well, he wanted me to help convince this teacher to come back from retirement. Professor Slughorn, I think his name was."

"That's it?" asked Auden.

"Well, yeah," Harry said. "He also explained some stuff to me. About the prophecy from last year."

The room was silent. Harry hadn't told any of them what the prophecy had said about him and Voldemort.

"Go on, mate," Ron whispered.

Harry launched into the story that Dumbledore had told him and when he was done, he was met once more with silence.

"So one of you has to kill the other in the end?" asked Ron.

Harry nodded. "Yeah that's basically it."

"Oh, that's terrifying," Auden said.

"Are you scared, Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Not as much as I think I should be," Harry answered.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. Auden looked up to see a puff of smoke surrounding Hermione's face. When it cleared, Auden saw that she had been holding a small telescope and now had a black eye.

"I just squeezed it and—and it punched me!" Hermione exclaimed.

Auden laughed and stood up to inspect Hermione's bruised eye. "That'll be one of Fred and George's prank telescopes."

"Well, is there any way to fix my eye?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think so," Ron shook his head. "That would be just like Fred and George to invent something with an effect you can't remove."

"There has to be a way to remove it," Auden said. "Just not one that's easy."

"I'm sure my mum can fix it, though," Ron added as Hermione groaned. "She's good at that sort of thing."

"Come on, let's go," Auden said gently as she led Hermione down to the kitchen.

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Weasley was still trying to fix Hermione's eye. After trying a few spells from memory, she had gone through book after book trying to find a remedy.

"I'm going to be like this forever," Hermione said.

"No, no, we'll figure something out," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I'm sure Fred and George will know how to fix it. They invented the telescope after all," Auden said as Harry and Ron joined them in the kitchen.

"Beel was telling me 'ow Fred and George are veery amusing," Fleur said from the table.

"Oh, yes, I can't breath for laughing," Hermione said angrily.

"Fred and George are going to think this is hysterical, Hermione. You know that right?" Auden asked.

"Just what I need," Hermione sighed.

"Well, we're going to need to go to Diagon Alley soon anyway, so while we're there we can stop by Fred and George's shop and get them to fix your eye," Mrs. Weasley said, sighing and leaning back on the counter.

After a moments silence, Hermione changed the subject. "I wonder when our OWL results will come in."

"Hang on," Harry said. "I think Dumbledore said they were supposed to arrive today."

"Today?" Hermione screeched, jumping up from her seat.

"Oh, no," Ron whispered, paling and pointing out the window.

Auden ran to the window, followed by Harry, Hermione, and Ron.

"It's them. Those are owls! And there are four of them!" Hermione yelped.

"Well, open the window, unless you want them to crash," Mrs. Weasley chuckled as she reached over Auden's shoulder and opened the window.

The owls flew inside and landed on the table. They simultaneously held up one of their legs, each with an envelope attached. Auden glanced nervously at her friends. Their OWL results were finally here.


	17. Chapter 17: It Means No Worries

"Weell, aren't you going to open them?" Fleur asked.

"I suppose we should," Auden answered, stepping forward and taking the envelope with her name on it. Hermione, Ron, and Harry proceeded to do the same.

Slowly, Auden opened her envelope, pulled out the piece of paper inside, and began to read.

**Pass Grades Fail Grades**

Outstanding (O) Poor (P)

Exceeds Expectations (E) Dreadful (D)

Acceptable (A) Troll (T)

_Auden Renee Parker has achieved:_

**Astronomy: **A

**Care of Magical Creatures: **E

**Charms: **O

**Defense Against the Dark Arts: **E

**Divination: **A

**Herbology: **E

**History of Magic: **A

**Potions:** A

**Transfiguration: **O

Auden felt relief wash over her. She had passed everything, even Divination and Potions. "How did you do?" she asked Ron and Harry.

"Pretty good," Ron said, grinning and showing her his paper. He had received OWLs in everything except History of Magic and Divination. Harry received OWLs in the same subjects as Ron. The only difference was that Harry got an Outstanding in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"I knew you'd get an Outstanding in that, Harry," Auden grinned.

"Hermione?" Ginny asked quietly. "How did you do?"

"Oh, I did alright," Hermione said.

Ron grabbed her paper away from her. "Aha, just what I thought. Outstanding in everything except an Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"That's great, Hermione!" Auden said. "You did the best out of all of us, which really isn't much of a surprise."

Hermione just shrugged. "Well, I suppose I did all right."

"You're actually disappointed, aren't you?" Ron asked, handing her paper back.

"No, I'm fine. I'm glad. Really, I am," Hermione answered, shaking her head dismissively at Ron's words.

"Well, great job everyone!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. She ruffled Ron's hair. "Seven OWLs, that's more than Fred and George received combined."

"Honey, the OWL scores came in!" Auden's mother exclaimed, bursting in through the back door. "I saw the school owls flying over here and I ran right over. How did you do?"

Auden showed her mother her scores.

"This is wonderful! Nine OWLS, congratulations!"

"Thanks, Mum," Auden said, smiling.

"We'll have to get you a reward. How about an owl? I know you've always wanted one. You can get an owl for your OWLs."

"Ha," Auden said, shaking her head and grinning. "But yeah, an owl would be fantastic. Thanks."

"What happened to your eye, Hermione?" Mrs. Parker asked, suddenly spotting Hermione's black eye.

"Fred and George's prank telescope punched me," Hermione said through gritted teeth.

Mrs. Parker let out a small giggle. "That's terrible," she said, regaining a straight face.

"How about we go pick up your school things tomorrow and we can visit the shop when we're finished?" Mrs. Weasley suggested. "I must say I'm rather excited to see it. I want Arthur and Liam to come with us, though. And maybe another member of the Order for extra security."

"Mum, do you think You-Know-Who's going to be hiding behind a bookshelf in Flourish and Blotts?" Ron asked with a snort.

"Ollivander and Fortescue went on holiday, did they?" Mrs. Weasley snapped. Both the wandmaker and the ice cream shop owner had gone missing in the past few weeks, and Auden could see why Mrs. Weasley wanted to travel in a group. She actually thought it sounded like a very good idea.

The next morning, they all set out for Diagon Alley. The street looked as if all excitement had been drained out of it. Many shops were boarded up and now people stood on the corners selling amulets to ward off dark spells. Auden practically dragged her parents into the shops to get her supplies. She had written to Fred to let them know they were coming to visit and she couldn't wait to see him.

"Alright, I think we're done," announced Mrs. Weasley about an hour later as they met up in the middle of the road. "We have just enough time to go see the joke shop."

"What's the shop like, Aud?" Ron asked as they walked with Ginny, Harry and Hermione ahead of their parents.

"It's incredible. It basically just screams Fred and George," Auden answered. "You're going to love it."

When they finally reached the shop, the looks on everyone's faces was priceless. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was in shock. Auden saw her silently mouthing the You-No-Poo sign to herself.

"You-No-Poo," she said in a whisper. "They'll be murdered in their beds!"

"No they won't!" exclaimed Ron, through fits of laughter. "This is brilliant!"

"What'd I tell you?" Auden asked, leading the way into the store. Just like the last time she had been here, the store was packed with people. Fred and George were nowhere to be seen.

"This is incredible," Ron whispered as Harry rotated on the spot trying to look at everything.

Auden grinned and followed Hermione and Ginny further into the shop. "Daydream Charms and Love Potions?" Hermione asked, stopping to pick up one of the small boxes.

"Do they really work?" asked Ginny.

"I expect they do," Auden said.

"'One simple incantation,'" Hermione read from the back of the box, "'and you will enter a top-quality, highly realistic, thirty-minute daydream, easy to fit into the average school lesson and virtually undetectable. Side effects include vacant expression and minor drooling. Not for sale to under-sixteens.' You know, this really is extraordinary magic!"

"For that, Hermione," said a voice from behind them, "you can have one for free!" The three girls whirled around to see Fred standing behind them. He grinned when he saw Auden who immediately walked over and gave him a quick kiss and a hug.

"These robes clash terribly with your hair," she pointed out wrinkling her nose at the magenta robes he was wearing.

"Wow, thanks, Aud, I've missed you too," Fred said with a laugh. "But anyway, that's why we wear them. The brighter the better. What happened to your eye, Hermione?"

"Your punching telescope," she answered, crossing her arms.

"Oh, blimey, I forgot about those." Fred reached into his pocket with the hand not holding onto Auden's and produced a small jar. "Here, rub some of this on your eye and the bruise will be gone within the hour."

"Will it really work?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, George and I needed to come up with a decent bruise remover since we test most of our products on ourselves."

"It's safe though, right?" asked Ginny.

"Of course it is. Oh, and getting back to the love potions, Ginny," Fred added with a smirk. "I don't think you need one. You seem to be doing just fine on your own." Auden grinned. It was true that Ginny had ditched Michael Corner and started dating Dean Thomas a few months ago.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ginny asked, as Harry attempted terribly to not listen in from where he was standing nearby.

"Are you or are you not dating a boy by the name of Dean Thomas?" George asked, appearing almost out of nowhere.

"It's none of your business," Ginny said, putting the love potion back.

"Ah, but it is," Fred said.

"You're our little sister," George added.

"And as your older brothers," Fred said.

"We have the right to know—,"

"Who you're dating-,"

"At all times," George finished. Both he and Fred grinned at Ginny who rolled her eyes and walked away.

Auden giggled. "Your sister's quite popular at school. She takes after you."

Fred smiled and looked down at her. "So, how have you been?"

"I'm great. I got my OWL results yesterday."

"Yeah? How many?"

"Nine," Auden answered with a grin.

"Nine? That's fantastic. That's three times more than what I got."

"I know," Auden giggled. "But what you've done with this shop is more impressive than my OWLs."

Fred shook his head. "Come on, Aud, nine OWLs is great. Don't downplay it."

Auden blushed and smiled. "Well, I'm glad you think so."

Fred ruffled her hair before looking up and noticing Harry. "Harry, how are you?" he asked. "How about a tour?"

Harry agreed and Fred and George began leading him around the shop. Auden came along as well, hand in hand with Fred.

"Come back here," George said, holding back a curtain leading to the back room.

"This is our more serious line of Shield Charm items," Fred said, holding up a hat. "Just put the article of clothing on and you're shielded from spells."

"Brilliant," grinned Harry. "You'd be surprised at how many people working in the Ministry can't cast a proper shield charm," George said. "But then again, they didn't have you as a teacher, Harry."

Harry blushed, and then was dragged away by Ron who insisted on showing him the shelves of Decoy Detonators. Not long after, Verity came in and said she needed help out front and George volunteered, winking on his way out.

"So, what else has been new besides your amazing OWL results?" Fred asked, brushing his finger along Auden's cheek.

"Not much. I miss not seeing you every day."

"Same here," Fred sighed, resting his forehead against hers.

"Diagon Alley's different now," Auden said with a sad smile, pulling away slightly so she could look at him better.

Fred nodded. "I think our shop's the only bit of life around here."

"Definitely," Auden smiled.

Fred grinned back and leaned in to gently kiss her.

Suddenly, the curtain was yanked out of the way and Mrs. Weasley was standing there. "Once you two have untangled yourselves, maybe one of you can tell me where Ron, Harry and Hermione have gotten themselves off to," she said anxiously.

"They're somewhere around the shop, Mum, we just saw them not too long ago," Fred said in an annoyed tone, not moving his arm from Auden's waist.

"No, they're not. I've walked all around the shop and they're nowhere to be seen," Mrs. Weasley said. "Hagrid's outside, though so I don't see how they could have-," she stopped midsentence to look at Auden. "Do you by any chance know if Harry had his invisibility cloak with him?"

"I'm not sure," Auden said. She bit her lip. She knew that Dumbledore had told Harry to bring the cloak everywhere from now on so Harry did probably have it with him and used it to sneak by Hagrid with Ron and Hermione. She just didn't want Mrs. Weasley to go ballistic on him when he returned. Auden just hoped he had a good reason for sneaking away.

"Very well," Mrs. Weasley answered. She began to turn away, but she turned back and pointed her finger at them. "Behave, you two."

"Don't we always?" asked Fred. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and left the room.

"Now, where were we?" asked Fred, leaning closer.

"Harry did sneak out," Auden whispered.

"What?" Fred asked, pulling away and looking at her, confused.

"He had his invisibility cloak. I just didn't want your mother to get worried. Well, even more than she already is."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Fred said, leaning forward again and kissing her cheek. "Don't worry."

"Yeah, I'm sure he will be," Auden said, but she wasn't entirely convinced. Harry was like some sort of trouble magnet.

Fred gently turned her face to meet his and kissed her softly before taking her hand and leading her back out to the store. He kissed Auden once more before leaving to help a customer. Auden wandered over to join Ginny at the pygmy puff display and soon after, Harry, Ron, and Hermione appeared in the shop again.

"We have to talk to you," Ron hissed in Auden's ear as she stuck her finger inside the cage of one of the pygmy puffs and petted the small creature's fur.

"Where have you been?" she whispered. "Your mum knew you left. She came asking where you were."

"We tailed Malfoy and found out something interesting," Harry said.

"What is it?" Auden asked, glancing at Ginny who was walking off to go purchase a Pygmy Puff.

"Malfoy went into Borgin and Burkes and-,"

"You followed him to Knockturn Alley?" Auden interrupted, looking up.

"Well, yeah, we had the cloak," Harry said impatiently. "Anyway, we didn't follow him inside, but we listened outside the door. He wanted something fixed, but he told Borgin that he couldn't bring it into the shop. Borgin said that it might be impossible, but Mafloy showed him something on his arm and-,"

"Harry seems to think that Malfoy is now a Death Eater," Hermione whispered, rolling her eyes.

Auden stared from Harry to Hermione to Ron before tilting her head in thought.

"You don't think so too, do you?" asked Hermione in exasperation.

"I don't know. His father was one," Auden said.

"Exactly," Harry said.

"What do you think, Ron?" Auden asked.

"I don't know. He was acting suspicious today, but there could be lots of reasons. It is Malfoy we're talking about here."

"That's what I was thinking," Hermione nodded.

"I mean, it's possible that Malfoy could be a Death Eater, but at sixteen?" Auden asked.

"His father is in jail," Harry said. "Maybe he's trying to take over for him or something."

They couldn't say anything more about Malfoy because Mrs. Weasley came over and announced it was time to leave. She fired questions at Harry, Ron, and Hermione asking where they had been, but they insisted on having never left the shop.

Auden wanted to say goodbye to Fred, but Mrs. Weasley was hustling her out of the shop. Auden craned her neck and saw Fred helping a customer over by the trick wand display. He looked up and they made eye contact. "I have to go," Auden mouthed.

Fred nodded his head and Auden blew him a kiss. Fred pretended to catch it and grinned broadly. "I love you," he mouthed.

Auden smiled and drew a heart in the air with her fingers. Fred chuckled before turning back to the customer he was helping.

For the last few weeks of the summer holidays, Harry would not stop talking about Malfoy. The story had seemed interesting to Auden at first, but now Harry had retold it and picked it apart so many times that it had gotten a bit boring.

"I swear, he's a Death Eater. What else would he have shown Borgin that terrified him so much?" Harry said the morning before they were to leave for Hogwarts.

"I don't know, Harry," Hermione said. She was sitting on the window seat in Fred and George's room with her feet propped up on an empty box.

"Maybe we should just give the whole Malfoy thing a rest for now, mate," Ron said.

Harry didn't answer and Auden could tell that he wouldn't be giving it a rest for long. "I'm going to go put some things in the wash so I can pack them," he said.

"I'll come down with you," Auden volunteered. She stood up from her spot on the floor and followed Harry out of the room. When they reached the kitchen, they found Fleur sitting at the table talking animatedly to Mrs. Weasley about the wedding. Mrs. Weasley appeared to only be half listening.

"I was theenking of asking Ginny and Gabrielle, my sister, to be bridesmaids," Fleur was saying. "They could wear pale gold dresses. Pink would clash terribly weeth Ginny's 'air, don't you agree, Molly?"

Mrs. Weasley grunted and Fleur looked hurt.

"I think gold's a lovely color," Auden said, trying to make Fleur feel better. It seemed to work because Fleur shot her a faint smile.

Mrs. Weasley spotted Harry and began going into detail about the security they would need to travel to Hogwarts, while Fleur turned to Auden. "How are theengs going weeth Fred?" she asked.

"Fine," Auden replied, pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "I haven't really seen much of him since I visited his shop the day we went to get school supplies. The shop's been busy with people wanting to get prank items to sneak into school."

"You must miss him," Fleur said. "Especially when you are at school."

Auden nodded as she sat down at the table. "Yeah, I do."

Fleur turned her coffee mug around in her hands awkwardly. "What eez your opinion on flowers?" she asked suddenly.

"Flowers? Er, flowers are lovely," Auden said, trying to hide her confusion.

"I want to know what kind of flowers to put as centerpieces on zee tables for zee wedding," Fleur said.

"Oh," Auden said, surprised that Fleur was asking her opinion. "Well, what about white roses? Those are pretty and very...you." She smiled.

Fleur grinned. "Yes, I do love roses, and zey would go along well weeth zee color scheme. I don't have many girls to talk to here. My mother and sister are een France, so it was nice to get your opinion."

Auden smiled back. "Don't mention it. It was nice to be asked for it."

"Will Tonks be coming tomorrow?" Auden heard Harry asking Mrs. Weasley.

"No, I don't think she is available," Mrs. Weasley answered rather grimly.

"Zat Tonks eez quite a strange girl. Changing 'er 'air color every two meenutes. And eet eez always such a dreadful color like bright peenk. She eez a girl, not a traffic cone," Fleur said with a sniff. Auden rolled her eyes. One minute, it seemed like Fleur wasn't so bad, but the next minute she was saying something insulting.

"No, I don't think she's strange at all. She's a very nice girl, and smart too," Mrs. Weasley said, stirring the pot on the stove with a little more force than needed. "Harry, I think you and Auden better get on back upstairs. The trunks should be packed tonight so tomorrow morning will be easier."

The next morning, the Ministry cars pulled up to the Burrow. Auden and her parents dashed over from their house when they spotted the cars. Auden was dragging her trunk while her mother carried Auden's new owl, Polka, in her cage. The owl had areas on her feathers that were darker in color than the rest of her feathers, kind of like polka dots. That's how Auden had come up with the name Polka.

"Goodbye, 'Arry," Fleur was saying as Auden and her parents caught up.

Ron stepped forward as if he was expecting a kiss as well, but Ginny tripped him and he fell flat on his face. Auden giggled and high fived Ginny behind Ron's back before climbing into the Ministry car after her parents.

"Are we all in? Good? Okay, let's go," Mr. Weasley said from up front. The car had been magically expanded to fit everyone comfortably, including Hedwig, Polka, Pigwidgeon, Crookshanks, and Arnold, Ginny's new Pygmy Puff.

They met up with two Aurors that Auden didn't know at the train station. They were two burly men and they walked close to Harry as if You-Know-Who was expected to pop out of the baby carriage being pushed by a woman nearby. Although, Auden almost couldn't blame them. Things had really been taking a turn for the worse over the summer. There was a constant fog from the dementors and Death Eaters had caused a bridge to collapse.

"Alright, be good, all of you," Mrs. Weasley said once they were all on Platform 9 ¾.

"You're all coming home for Christmas, so we'll see you soon," Mrs. Parker said.

Auden kissed her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley goodbye before climbing on the train with her friends. Ginny ran off to meet Dean while Hermione and Ron disappeared to the prefects carriage.

"I guess it's just you and me, Aud," Harry grinned. They ran into Neville and Luna further down the train and they managed to find a compartment together. Auden had just sat down when she heard a tapping at the window. It was an owl carrying a letter. Auden could just barely make out her name written on the front and she wondered who it could be from.


	18. Chapter 18: You Make Me Crazier

Auden let the owl in and it landed on her lap. She pulled the letter off of the owl's leg and began unfolding it as the owl flew out of the window. When she saw it was from Fred, her heart skipped a beat.

_Dear Auden, _

_I know you're on your way to Hogwarts right now. I would have written sooner, but you know how busy things are at the shop. Anyway, I wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you today. I actually think of you every day if we're going to be honest, but I'm thinking of you extra today because you're going to Hogwarts without me. It's the first time I'm not on the train with you and it's weird. Anyway, don't forget to write me whenever you need me and use the mirror I gave you. Be careful and don't do anything I wouldn't do. I expect to hear lovely, wonderful tales of all the pranks you pull on innocent, unsuspecting children. I love you and I'll see you at Christmas. I can't wait. I miss you so much._

_Love, Fred._

Auden found herself grinning. She folded the note up and tucked it into her bag, making a mental note to write him back once she got back to school.

"Was that from Fred?" Luna asked.

"Yeah, it was, how did you know?" Auden asked curiously.

"Just from the look on your face," Luna said with an airy grin as she slid on an odd pair of glasses.

"What are those?" Auden asked.

"Spectrespecks," Luna replied. "They let the wearer spot Wrackspurts, which are invisible creatures that float in your ears and make your brain go fuzzy."

"Oh, I see. Are there any Wrackspurts around me?" Auden asked with a smile.

"No, I don't see any," Luna grinned. "But I noticed earlier those two Slytherin boys, Crabbe and Goyle, had a ton of Wrackspurts swarming around them."

"I'm not surprised," Auden laughed. Crabbe and Goyle's heads were probably _made _of Wrackspurts.

"You know, Harry," Neville said. "People are staring at me and Luna because we were with you at the Ministry in June. Gran was actually very proud when she heard what happened. She even bought me a new wand." He held it up in front of him. "We think it was one of the last Ollivander ever sold."

"That's good, Neville," Harry said.

"Are we still having D.A. meetings this year, Harry?" Luna asked.

"No, I don't think so," Harry shook his head. "I mean, Umbridge is gone so I don't see the point."

Neville looked disappointed. "I enjoyed those meetings. I learned a lot."

"I quite enjoyed them as well," Luna added. "It was like having friends."

Harry looked down uncomfortably as Auden smiled. "Luna, we're still your friends, even without the D.A."

"That's nice of you to say," Luna answered, grinning as she turned her Spectrespeck-clad eyes on Auden, who had to fight back a giggle. She had to admit, the glasses looked very odd.

Just then, someone knocked on the door and a girl who looked a few years younger than they did marched into the compartment. A group of her friends were waiting out in the hallway, looking nervous as they peered after her.

"Hello, Harry, I'm Romilda Vane. Why don't you come and join me in my compartment? You don't have to sit with them." She eyed Neville, who was now crawling around on the floor looking for his toad, and Luna, who was wearing her Spectrespecks and gazing around dreamily. "And I would say your other friend could come too," she said, looking at Auden as if she was trying to find something weird about her, but couldn't, "but we only have room for _one_ more person."

"These are all friends of mine," Harry said. "I'm just fine here, thanks."

"Oh, okay," Romilda said awkwardly, "well, bye." She turned on her heel and marched out of the compartment.

"She was pleasant," Auden observed.

"She let in a Wrackspurt," Luna said, sighing and staring at the ceiling where the Wrackspurt that only she could apparently see was probably flying around.

Auden giggled. "How do we get rid of it?" she asked.

"Ron and Hermione'll let it out when they open the door," Luna answered, gesturing to the entrance to the compartment, where Ron and Hermione had just appeared. They came inside and plopped down into the available seats.

"Gone?" Auden asked Luna with a smile.

"Gone," she answered, nodding.

"I'm starving," announced Ron. "Has the witch with the trolley come by yet?"

"No," Auden replied, her mouth twitching up at the corners.

"We saw Malfoy, Harry, while we were doing our walk through of the train," Hermione said. This caught Harry's attention immediately and he looked up.

"What was he doing? Bullying some first years?"

"Actually, no," Ron said, putting his feet up on the seat across from him, next to Hermione, who wrinkled her nose. "He was just sitting in his compartment talking to Pansy, Crabbe, and Goyle. It was very uncharacteristic."

Auden could practically hear the gears turning in Harry's head, but before he could say anything there was another knock on the door and a small third year girl entered, clutching two rolls of parchment in her hand.

"I'm supposed to give these to Mr. Harry Potter and Mr. Neville Longbottom," she said, handing them the parchment and hurrying away.

"What does it say?" Auden asked.

"It's from Professor Slughorn, that new Professor that I met over the summer," Harry said. "We're supposed to go to his compartment for lunch."

"Why me?" Neville asked. "I've never even met him."

Harry shrugged. "Who knows? Come on, Neville." The two of them left the compartment, and Auden noticed Harry taking his invisibility cloak with him. She wondered why. Surely he wouldn't need it on the train.

But apparently, he had found some use for it because, a few hours later, Neville returned to the compartment without Harry. "I thought he was ahead of me," he said, shrugging.

And by the time the train reached Hogwarts, Harry still wasn't back.

"He probably went on ahead," Ron said, shrugging and leading the way off the train. Hermione and Auden shared a look. They were both wondering the same thing. Harry had gone to eavesdrop on Malfoy.

They sat down in the Great Hall and there was _still_ no sign of Harry. He definitely hadn't gone on ahead of them or else he would be sitting at the Gryffindor table already. It wasn't until the Sorting had finished and food was first appearing on the tables that Harry slid through the doors with Snape right behind him.

"He's covered in blood," Ginny pointed out, noticing Harry as well.

"Why is it he's always covered in blood?" Hermione asked.

"It looks like his own this time," Ron added.

"That still doesn't make it better," Auden whispered.

Harry reached them, sat down quickly, and began piling his plate with food. He glanced up to see four pairs of eyes staring at him.

"Where were you?" Hermione asked.

"And why is there blood all over your face?" Auden asked, waving her wand to clear it off for him.

"Oh, how does my nose look?" Harry asked.

"Fine," Ron replied. "Why shouldn't it?"

Harry told them the story of how he had hid out in Malfoy's compartment using his invisibility cloak and Malfoy had discovered him, broken his nose, and used the body bind curse on him so that he couldn't move. If it hadn't been for Tonks finding him, he would've been stuck riding the train back to London. She had also fixed his broken nose for him.

"So did you get what you wanted? Did Malfoy confess that he is indeed a Death Eater and out to ruin the world?" Hermione asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

"He didn't say if he was a Death Eater or not, but he did say he might not come back to Hogwarts next year. He was talking about how when Voldemort takes over he won't care about grades, just the kind of service people gave him."

"That doesn't prove anything," Hermione said.

"Wait, he was also talking as if Voldemort left him some kind of job to do."

"What kind of job?" Auden asked.

"He didn't say," Harry answered. "We got to the station before he could go on."

"He was probably just showing off for Parkinson," Ron said dismissively. "Don't you think so, Hermione?"

"It's possible," Hermione said. "But it is a big lie to tell."

"Exactly," Harry nodded. "Oh, and when Tonks rescued me, she sent one of those talking Patronuses to the castle so a teacher could open the gates and her Patronus was different."

"Different how?" Hermione asked curiously.

"I don't know. It just wasn't what her usual Patronus looks like. Her new one was big and had four legs."

"I didn't know Patronuses could change," Hermione said.

"Neither did I," shrugged Harry.

"They can," Auden said, blushing and moving her food around on her plate.

"Why are you blushing?" Hermione asked. "Come on, spill it. What do you know?"

"They can change when someone's really sad or emotional or when-when someone falls in love." She stared down at her dinner as she blushed further.

"How did you know that?" Ron asked in surprise.

"Oh, Ron," Hermione sighed. "Don't you get it? Her Patronus changed." She looked at Auden. "It changed to match Fred's, didn't it?"

Auden nodded. "Not too long after I first cast it, actually. I snuck back to the Room of Requirement one night after Umbridge caught us because I wanted extra practice and it wasn't a chimp anymore. It was a fox. Naturally, I was confused, so I went to the library to research it."

"Why did it appear as a chimp the first time, though? You already loved Fred by then, didn't you?"

Auden nodded. "Maybe it was because I never made one before, so it took on a shape that it would have been first or something."

"Did you tell Fred?" Harry asked.

Auden nodded a second time and smiled. "I told him the day after I found out. We snuck back to the Room of Requirement that night and he tried his Patronus again. And when he did, it was a chimp."

Hermione smiled. "That's so sweet."

"So...what do you think the reason for Tonks' Patronus change could be?" Harry asked. "You think she's in love with someone?"

Auden shrugged. "I don't know. You're sure you didn't see what it changed to?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I just know it was big and had four legs."

Auden sighed. "That makes things more difficult. If she is in love, we won't know who it is unless we find out what the patronus changed to."

They didn't get to discuss things further because Dumbledore stood up to give his usual start of term speech and everyone grew quiet.

"I'd like to introduce a new teacher to our staff. Professor Slughorn," he gestured a fat man who looked like a walrus, "will be taking the post as Potions professor."

"What?" Harry cried. A lot of other students looked confused as well. Everyone had assumed that Slughorn would be taking the Defense Against the Dark Arts post.

"The Defense Against the Dark Arts position," Dumbledore continued, "will be taken over by our very own Professor Snape."

The applause came weakly, but it did nothing to diminish the smug look on Snape's face. He had finally gotten the position he had been after for so long.

Dumbledore then sent everyone off to bed and Harry and Ron went on and on about Snape's new teaching job. Harry hoped that Snape would be gone by the end of the year, since that post was supposedly cursed and it was true that no teacher had lasted longer than a year. Ron, on the other hand, reasoned that Snape might decide to go back to teaching Potions. Auden didn't really care either way. She didn't exactly want Snape to _die_, but she wouldn't exactly be distraught if he left the school. On the other hand, she would be out of Hogwarts soon enough and she could handle him for a little while longer.

Once in her dorm, Auden pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill so that she could answer Fred's letter.

_Dear Fred,_

_I arrived at Hogwarts safely and I'm sitting in my dorm right now wishing that I didn't have to write this letter to you. I say that because I wish you were sitting in the boys' dorm right now with George, thinking of ways to prank those innocent, unsuspecting children._

_You don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. I know you're going to worry anyway, just like I'm still going to worry about you. I'll have to write to you about all the Quidditch matches. I'm so glad Harry was made captain. Oh, and that reminds me. Snape was made the new Defense teacher. Some guy named Professor Slughorn is going to teach Potions. Professor Slughorn looks like a walrus, but he can't be any worse of a teacher than the toad. _

_Anyway, I would be glad to inform you of all the pranks I pull. Maybe I'll even send you a Hogwarts toilet seat since you and George never got around to that. You probably think I'm joking. Too bad I'm not. Don't be surprised if you get a toilet seat in the mail. You can hang it up in the flat. It would look great above the fireplace._

_I love you to Pluto and back. (In case you've forgotten what you learned in Astronomy, Pluto is the planet furthest away from Earth, where we live). I'm counting down the days until Christmas when I can see you again. I miss you a ton. Have fun with the shop, and eat a Puking Pastil for me. Or not. Either way, I still miss you. See you soon._

_Love, Auden_

She folded the letter up and put it on her nightstand so that she would remember to mail it in the morning. Then, she slid under her covers and fell asleep instantly.

* * *

The next morning, Auden woke up early so that she could mail her letter straight away. She got dressed and walked through the quiet castle to the Owlery. She spotted Polka sitting near Hedwig on a perch near the ceiling so she whistled and held out her arm. Polka flew down at once and landed gracefully on Auden's outstretched arm.

"Take this to Fred, okay?" Auden whispered, attaching the letter to the bird's leg. Polka let out a soft hoot before taking off out the window.

Auden leaned her elbows on the windowsill and stared out at the sunrise and the Hogwarts grounds. She could see Hagrid's hut from here, and part of the lake.

Eventually, she went down to breakfast and took a seat next to Hermione and across from Harry and Ron. Professor McGonagall was just passing out schedules. Auden scanned hers. She was taking Transfiguration, Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, and a Wizard Current Events Class all about wizarding events and journalism.

"Here, let's switch schedules," Ron said, taking Auden's schedule and giving her his. "Harry and I have the same schedule."

When Auden looked at Ron's classes, she noticed that they had Charms, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration together.

"Hello, you four," Hagrid said, coming up behind them. "Got yer schedules? Jus' yeh wait until Care of Magical Creatures. I got somethin' excitin' planned. I know the four of yeh will appreciate it."

"Er, sounds great," Harry said quietly, attempting a smile. Hagrid didn't seem to notice anything odd because he waved cheerily and walked away.

"You aren't taking Hagrid's class, Aud," Ron said, looking down at Auden's schedule, which was still in his hands.

"No, and neither are you two," Auden answered, looking down at Ron's schedule.

"Hermione?" asked Harry.

Hermione shook her head. "No, I'm not," she whispered.

"Hagrid's going to be crushed," Harry said. "We were the only ones who actually liked his class."

"Or at least had the decency to pretend to like it," Ron mumbled. "I still haven't forgotten those blast ended skrewts."

Hermione had a class right after breakfast, but Ron, Harry, and Auden didn't. Halfway to the common room, Auden stopped. Now would be the perfect time to get that toilet seat for Fred. She couldn't believe she was actually going to go through with it. She had to be out of her mind.

The idea sounded so silly, but she knew Fred would probably fall over with laughter. She figured it had to do with the influence Fred had on her. She was losing her mind, going crazy, and it was all Fred's fault. On the other hand, maybe she didn't mind too much.

"Are you okay, Aud?" Ron asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

"Yeah," she answered. "You guys go on ahead. I just remembered something I wanted to do." Before they could say anything to stop her, she ran down the hallway towards the only bathroom where she knew nobody would disturb her or care that a toilet seat was missing.

Within a few minutes, she reached Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. She dropped her bag on the floor at the end of the row of stalls and proceeded to walk down the row, looking into each stall. Which seat should she pick? Not the one in Myrtle's stall. That would set the ghost into a fit of hysterics for sure. She would end up flooding the whole school. But which one was Myrtle's stall? She hadn't been with her friends the whole time they were making the Polyjuice Potion and she had only been in here a few times before so she couldn't remember.

Auden picked a stall at random and walked inside it. She didn't bother to shut the door. Nobody was in there and it wasn't like she was actually using the toilet, just taking the seat off. No big deal.

With a wave of her wand, she detached the seat from the rest of the toilet. She bit her lip. How was she going to transport this to the owlery? She sure as hell wasn't going to carry it and it wouldn't fit in her bag.

"Having trouble remembering how to use a toilet?" asked a voice from behind her. Auden gasped and spun around.

"Myrtle!" she squeaked when she saw the ghost hovering in the doorway to the stall.

"Yes, it's just me," Myrtle sighed. "How's your friend? Harry Potter?" She began twirling her translucent hair in her ghostly fingers.

"He's fine," Auden answered.

"He doesn't come to visit me anymore."

"Busy, I expect," Auden said. "You know, schoolwork, homework, classes…"

"Defeating dragons," Myrtle continued dreamily.

"Yeah, he did that too," Auden said. She wished Myrtle would move so she could leave the bathroom. She didn't feel like walking through her either. It would feel like walking through ice water and besides, it might even have made Myrtle cry.

"Anyway, what are you doing in here? Not doing anything against the rules, are you?" Myrtle asked.

"Er, would you say taking this toilet seat and sending it to my boyfriend is against the rules?" Auden asked, looking down at the toilet.

"You're sending a toilet seat to your boyfriend?" Myrtle wrinkled her nose. "When I was alive, couples gave each other flowers. Not that I got any, of course, but I guess times have changed."

"So you don't mind if I just…take this?" Auden asked.

"No, go right ahead," Myrtle said, drifting towards a stall further away, looking dreary. "I wish I had a boyfriend that would send me toilet seats." She then burst into tears and with a wail, she dove into a toilet, splashing the floor with water.

"Well, crying like that certainly won't get you one," Auden said under her breath before returning to her problem of transporting the toilet seat to the owlery. She could put an undetectable enlargement spell on her bag, but she really didn't want a toilet seat in there. That was disgusting. Auden shuddered at the thought, but then she got an idea.

She cast a cleaning spell over the seat. That was better. It was now completely sanitary. Smiling at the thought of Fred's face when he saw it, she carried it over to her bag and cast the enlargement spell over it before shoving the toilet seat inside. She had just finished and was standing up to leave, when she heard the door to the bathroom creak open. Someone was coming.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so I know in Auden's letter I wrote about Pluto and I know it's technically no longer a planet but I figured that when the Harry Potter books were written, Pluto was a planet and I just wanted to say that now so everyone knows. Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter :)**** The title of this chapter is from the song **_**Crazier**_** by Taylor Swift.**


	19. Chapter 19: I Miss Everything About You

Auden froze for a second before turning around and racing into a stall. She stood on the toilet so that nobody would see her feet sticking out. The last thing she needed was for a teacher to catch her with a Hogwarts toilet seat in her bag.

"Auden?" It was Harry's voice.

"We know you're in here." It was Ron's voice that spoke this time.

Auden jumped down from the toilet seat and opened the door. "Hey, what's up?" she asked. She didn't know why she was even bothering with trying to be casual. That was practically impossible to do in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. And obviously Harry and Ron knew she was up to something. Otherwise, they wouldn't have followed her.

"What were you doing in here?" Harry asked.

Auden looked from Harry to Ron. She decided she could tell them, so she slid the toilet seat partially out of her bag so that they could see. The two of them stared at it for a second before bursting into laughter.

"You're sending that to Fred, right?" Ron gasped through his laughter.

Auden nodded. "Yeah, I thought he'd get a laugh out of it."

"That's brilliant," Harry said.

"Oh, Harry, Moaning Myrtle was asking for you," Auden said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Oh, no," Harry groaned. "Let's go before she realizes I'm here."

They ran out of the bathroom, laughing hysterically.

"We ran into McGonagall on the way here," Harry told Auden. "She said Ron and I can take Potions since Professor Slughorn is teaching now and his OWL result standards weren't as high as Snape's were."

"So that's another class we'll have together," Ron added, grinning.

"That's great!" Auden exclaimed. "I'm going to go to the Owlery so I can mail this, but I'll see you in class!" She waved to Harry and Ron before running in the opposite direction.

Once in the Owlery, she realized that Polka hadn't returned from delivering Fred's letter yet, so she picked a few of the school's owls to carry the toilet seat. Before she sent them off with it she scribbled a note on a small piece of paper.

_Dear Fred,_

_Here is your Hogwarts toilet seat, as promised. It's straight from Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. You should feel incredibly special to have such a toilet seat. Oh, and don't worry. It's completely sanitary._

_Also, Quidditch tryouts are coming up soon. Harry's having everyone try out again, even people who were on the old team. He assured me and Katie that we'll most likely get spots, but wish me luck anyway. I'm not sure I want to get too confident in case he wants to replace me._

_There are 112 days until I come home for Christmas on December 23rd, and 113 days until I see you on Christmas Eve. I told you I was counting down the days. I love you and miss you so much._

_Love, Auden_

After she sent the letter and the toilet seat to Fred, Auden turned and began walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts. On the way, she began thinking. Christmas Eve would also be her and Fred's two year anniversary. She was actually very glad they had started dating on that day as opposed to a day where she would have had to be in school. She would be home on Christmas Eve for the holidays and she'd be able to spend her anniversary with Fred.

She made it to class right on time and took a seat next to Hermione, who already had her book out and her hands folded on the desk. Auden turned around to grin at Ron and Harry. She then noticed the way that Snape had decorated the classroom. Pictures hung on the walls showing people either in pain, receiving horrible injuries, or with missing or contorted body parts. Auden wrinkled her nose.

"I have not asked you to take out your books," Snape said from the front of the room, staring at Hermione, who hastily removed her book from her desk and dropped it into her bag. "I want your complete attention," Snape continued.

He stared around the class with his black eyes that resembled a bottomless pit.

"The Dark Arts," he said, "are varied, ever changing and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many headed monster, which each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. Your defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo."

The class was silent as Snape spoke. Everyone was staring up at him wide eyed.

"These pictures hanging around the room give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse, the Dementor's Kiss, or provoke the aggression of the Inferius."

"So has an Inferius been seen then?" asked Parvati in a small voice. "Is he definitely using them?"

"The Dark Lord has used them in the past, so you would be well advised to assume he might use them again. Now, can anyone tell me what the advantage of a non-verbal spell is?"

Naturally, Hermione's hand shot into the air faster than lightning.

Snape paused for a minute before calling on Hermione. "Yes, Miss Granger?"

"Your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform, which gives you a split second advantage," Hermione said.

"An answer copied almost word for word from _The Standard Book of Spells, Grade Six,_" Snape said quietly. "But otherwise correct. You will now divide into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other without speaking. The other will attempt to repel the jinx in equal silence."

The class stood up and divided into pairs. Auden was with Hermione, who was going to try to repel Auden's jinx.

Auden noticed Ron's face was turning purple with concentration and she giggled before turning to Hermione. "Are you ready?"

Hermione nodded her head and Auden raised her wand and chewed the inside of her cheek as she concentrated. Wordlessly, she waved her wand, attempting to cast a Jelly Legs Jinx, but nothing happened.

"You probably aren't concentrating enough," Hermione said gently. "You have to really concentrate and focus completely on the spell you want to cast."

Auden tried again. And again, and again. Each time, nothing happened, but on her fifth try, she was successful and Hermione successfully repelled it. They were the only two in the class who had been successful, but Snape either hadn't noticed or chosen not to.

Ron's face was still purple with concentration. Harry was holding his wand up, but gazing around the room as if he had given up expecting a curse to come out of Ron's wand.

"Pathetic," Snape said, approaching them. "Let me show you how it's done."

Auden and Hermione froze and shared a look. Snape turned his wand on Harry so fast that Harry seemed to forget what they were practicing and yelled "Protego!"

Snape was thrown off balance by the shield charm and he stumbled into a desk. "I do believe we are practicing non verbal spells Potter. Do you, by any chance, remember me saying that?"

"Yes," Harry said through gritted teeth.

"Yes _sir,_" Snape corrected.

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor."

The class went silent. Hermione gasped and Auden's mouth dropped open. Harry was going to get into _so _much trouble. Ron however, was silently laughing from behind Snape's back.

"Detention, Potter, Saturday night, my office," Snape said coolly.

Just then, the bell rang and Harry raced out of class. Auden, Ron and Hermione followed him.

"That was brilliant, Harry!" Ron cried.

Harry didn't say anything. Auden could tell he was still furious with Snape.

Just then, a fourth year boy caught up to them and handed Harry a note. Harry read it silently. "It's from Dumbledore! Our first lesson is on Saturday night. Ha, Snape won't be happy. I can't do his detention now."

The next class was Potions. It was strange going to that class knowing that Snape wouldn't be teaching it.

They entered the classroom to find three small cauldrons already set up on the table in the front of the room. Hermione, being the first to enter the room, chose a table next to one of the smaller cauldrons.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry said, raising his hand to get Slughorn's attention. "Ron and I don't have books or supplies for this class. We just found out today that we'd be able to take the NEWT Potions class."

"Ah, yes, Minerva did say something about that. You can borrow whatever you need until your supplies arrive."

Harry and Ron walked over to the storage cupboards as Slughorn began the lesson. Once again, Hermione had her book already out and lying on the desk.

"Now then," Slughorn said loudly. "I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at. These are the things you should be able to make after you have taken your NEWTs. Can anyone tell me what this one is?" He was pointing at the cauldron that was the furthest away from Auden's table.

Hermione's hand was the first and only hand in the air, not to anyone's surprise. "That's Veritaserum," she said when Professor Slughorn called on her.

"Yes, yes," said Slughorn. "Now can you tell me what it does?"

"It's a colorless, odorless potion that forces the drinker to tell the truth," Hermione answered as Harry and Ron returned to the table with their supplies.

"Very good!" Slughorn said, clapping his hands together. "Now, what about this one?" He gestured to the middle cauldron. "It's pretty well known. Can anyone—,"

"It's Polyjuice Potion," Hermione said, throwing her hand into the air once more as Harry and Ron smirked.

"Yes, correct again! Now this one here is—,"

Hermione flung her hand into the air for a third time. Auden was considering hiding under the table to avoid being accidentally punched in the face.

"It's Amortentia!" Hermione exclaimed.

"It is indeed," Slughorn grinned. "I assume you know what it does?"

"It is the most powerful love potion in the world," Hermione said. "It's recognized by its color and the steam rising in spirals. It's also supposed to smell differently to each of us, according to what attracts us, and I can smell freshly mown grass and new parchment and—." Hermione stopped abruptly and turned a bright shade of pink.

"What was the last one?" Auden asked curiously in a whisper.

Hermione shook her head and turned a deeper shade of pink.

"Tell me," Auden said with a grin.

"How about you tell me what you smell?" Hermione hissed back defiantly.

"Fresh laundry, roses, and Fred," Auden said easily, in an amused tone. She raised an eyebrow at Hermione, who just squeezed her mouth shut and turned to face the front again.

"Now," Professor Slughorn was saying. "We will begin the work for today's class."

"Sir, you haven't told us what's in this one," said a Hufflepuff boy named Ernie Macmillan. He was pointing to a small bottle that Auden hadn't noticed.

"Aha, this," Slughorn said excitedly, "is a potion called Felix Felicis. I take it, Miss Granger, that you know what it does?" He turned to Hermione with a smile.

"It's liquid luck," said Hermione with awe. "If you drink it, you'll have an entire days worth of luck!"

"Exactly," Slughorn said with a large smile. "If it is taken in excess, however, it will cause giddiness and dangerous overconfidence. Dangerous to take in high quantities, this potion. Now, here's what we're going to do. I want you all to turn to page forty-three of your books and make the potion you see there. The Drought of Living Death. At the end of the class, whoever has the best potion will win this little bottle of Felix Felicis." Slughorn waved the bottle in the air. Everyone's eyes followed it as if they were unable to look away.

Malfoy looked especially eager to win the potion, something that didn't go unnoticed by either Auden or Harry. His face had lit up at Slughorn's offer and he was now frantically adding ingredients to his cauldron.

Auden turned to her own book and began to follow the instructions. They were very difficult and sometimes hard to follow. She was positive that her potion was supposed to be lighter than it actually was.

"How are you doing that?" Hermione asked Harry.

Auden glanced into Harry's potion. It was perfect. It was doing exactly what it should have been doing and it was the exact color it should have been.

"Try adding a counterclockwise stir," Harry said nonchalantly.

"No, no, the book says only clockwise," Hermione said. Her hair was inflating horribly due to the heat and steam of the potions and, combined with her frazzled expression it made her look like some kind of mad scientist.

"Hermione, relax. Take a deep breath," Auden said.

"I can't relax. My potion is supposed to be lavender not violet colored!"

Auden shrugged and turned back to her potion. When Slughorn announced that time was up, Auden stood back from her cauldron and sighed, glad to be done.

Slughorn walked around the room, examining everyone's work. When he got to Harry, his face brightened at once. "I believe we have a winner!" he boomed.

"Hmph," Hermione said, crossing her arms.

Slughorn presented the Felix Felicis to Harry with a smile and Auden watched Harry pocket it carefully.

* * *

Later that night, as Auden was getting ready for bed, she heard a tapping at the window. She opened it and Polka flew inside, almost hitting Auden in the head.

"You're such a goofy bird," Auden said with a smile, taking the letter from around Polka's leg and petting her head. The bird stayed put and poked at the letter. Clearly, she was waiting for Auden to read the letter and respond right away. Knowing the letter was from Fred, Auden quickly unfolded it.

_Dear Aud, _

_You're amazing. I can't believe you actually sent us a toilet seat. It was incredible beyond words. You have no idea. _

_Anyway, you'll do fine at Quidditch tryouts. I know you will. Make sure you write me and tell me what happens. I want to hear all about how you blew everyone away with your fantastic Quidditch skills. _

_Thank you for the update on how long it is until Christmas. I plan on regular updates, just so you know. I mean, why keep track myself when you're already doing it? This is the part where you roll your eyes at me. So, go right ahead and roll your eyes. _

_Also, tell me about the new Potions teacher. Is he cool? You're right, he can't be worse than the toad. Let's face it, a lampshade would be a better teacher than her. Or maybe I should say toilet seat. Ha, ha. How's the greasy gremlin doing teaching Defense? Is he still being a large nosed git? If he bothers you, tell me and I'll come down there and sneak some shampoo under his pillow. _

_I miss you to Pluto and back about five times. That's four times more than you miss me, which I could tell is a lot because I do remember that Pluto is the furthest planet away from Earth. I can't wait to see you at Christmas. Oh, and how about tomorrow night at ten we have a date with our mirrors? It's been entirely too long since I've seen your pretty face. Pictures aren't really cutting it for me anymore. I want to see you in person-at least somewhat anyway-and I want to hear your voice, so let me know._

_Love, Fred._

_PS. George just hung up the toilet seat, but not above the fireplace. Well, not directly anyway. It's to the extreme left of the fireplace. Close enough. _

Auden couldn't help but smile as she read the letter. She had flopped onto her bed while reading it and she was now smiling like a goon at the ceiling. Rolling onto her stomach, she wrote Fred a reply telling him about the first Potions lesson and that ten the following night was fine to talk through their mirrors. She sent the letter off with Polka before flopping down on her bed again.

After a few minutes, she crawled under the covers. She couldn't wait until tomorrow night when she could actually see Fred's face and hear his voice. She wasn't used to going more than a day or two without him and she missed him so much she sometimes thought she would explode. She missed his bright blue eyes that lit up like stars when he smiled or got a good idea. She missed his typical Fred grin, one that he never failed to show off every single day. She also missed holding his hand and just being near him.

Thinking about Fred and how she was finally going to see his face the next night, Auden finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Here's the next chapter, I hope everyone likes it! **

**I got a question in a review about how I had Tonks fixing Harry's nose and how they thought Luna fixed it. Tonks fixed his nose in the book and I just went with the book version so I could write about her different Patronus since she's in love with Lupin and that's why it changed :)**

**The song for this chapter was actually a suggestion and the song is **_**I Never Told You **_**by Colbie Caillat so thank you to the person who suggested that :)**


	20. Chapter 20: Perfect Day

The next night couldn't come fast enough. Auden finished her homework in record time so that she could go talk to Fred through her mirror. She raced up to her dorm at exactly ten o'clock to see her mirror vibrating on her nightstand. She picked it up and looked into it to see Fred's face staring back at her.

"Hey," he sighed, giving her one of his huge trademark grins.

"Hi," she said back, climbing onto her bed. "How are you?"

"I'm fine. Excellent, actually. How are you? Are you following all the rules like a good girl?" Fred smirked.

"I think looking at the toilet seat hanging to the extreme left of your fireplace should give you your answer," Auden said.

"Okay, okay, so you aren't following the rules," Fred said, laughing. Auden could see his eyes gleaming and she wished she could actually be with him, but talking through the mirrors would have to do for now.

"No, really, I'm being good," she said. "I'm just causing a little ruckus here and there."

"Did you just say ruckus?" Fred asked with an amused grin.

"Yeah, it's my word of the day," Auden shrugged.

"When did you decide that?"

"Just now," she responded.

"When there's two hours left of the day," Fred shook his head and smiled. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," Auden said, her voice quiet. "I miss cuddling with you," she added, a smile growing on her face.

"Same here," Fred answered. "As much as I love George, cuddling with him would be just plain weird…ouch!" Something white came into view, hitting the side of Fred's face.

"What happened?" Auden asked through her giggles.

"George threw his pillow at me. I think I offended him."

Auden laughed. "Tell him I said hi and to quit throwing pillows at my boyfriend."

"No promises," yelled George's voice from somewhere in the background.

With a thump, another pillow hit Fred in the face. Auden laughed. "Why is George in your room with his pillow anyway? I thought you two had your own rooms now?"

Fred shrugged. "We're working on some inventions and the last time we did this, George _didn't_ have his own blankets or pillows and fell asleep on the wooden floor. Needless to say, he woke up pretty sore the next day." He smiled one of his signature devious grins. "But hold on just a minute." He put the mirror down and now Auden could only see the ceiling of his flat. She heard a scuffling sound and a thump before Fred reappeared. "Sorry to keep you waiting."

"No problem, I love staring at your ceiling." Auden rolled her eyes. "What were you doing?"

"I threw a pillow at George," Fred answered.

"Throw one at him from me too," Auden told him.

"Will do," Fred answered and the mirror dropped to the bed once again as Fred tossed another pillow at George.

Auden was stifling a yawn as Fred came back to his mirror. "Are you tired?" he asked her gently.

"A little, but I want to stay up and talk to you," Auden said. "Writing letters isn't the same as hearing your voice and seeing you."

"I know," Fred whispered. "You have no idea how much I want to be with you right now, but just think, every day is one day closer to Christmas."

Auden smiled. "I know. Just 112 more days until Christmas Eve."

"I can't believe we'll have been together for two years," Fred said. "George and Katie too."

"Is that a twin thing? Getting girlfriends on the same day?" Auden asked.

"I don't know, maybe. I like it, though."

"So do I," Auden answered, smiling. "You know, I'm so glad you managed to find these mirrors," she said, "or else I'd be going crazy by now."

Fred nodded. "Me, too." He paused. "It's so _hard_ not being able to see you every single day. But at the same time, seeing you through the mirrors is hard because I can see you, but I can't kiss you or hug you...or anything. It's like you're so close but so far away."

Auden smiled a little sadly. "I know the feeling. Every time I see people holding hands in the hallway, it makes me miss you even more, too."

"You two are being so _sappy_," George muttered from the background of Fred's end of the mirror.

"Hey, it's not like you're much better," Fred said, turning to look at George. "Honestly, asking to borrow my mirror and asking Auden to let Katie borrow hers so that you two can talk. Ridiculous and desperate, Georgie."

A pillow came out of nowhere once again and hit Fred in the face. Auden laughed as she leaned back on her pillows and sighed. "Oh, so Harry says Tonks' patronus changed."

"It did?" Fred asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "So...she's in love with someone?"

Auden shrugged. "I guess so, but Harry said he didn't really see what the patronus had changed to, so we have no idea who it would possibly be."

"Bummer," Fred said. "I'd like to know who the guy is as well. Let me know if you figure it out, will you?"

Auden nodded as she stifled another yawn.

"You're tired," Fred observed. "You should go to sleep. We can talk again soon."

"Okay," Auden said with a reluctant sigh. She didn't want him to go.

"Sweet dreams," Fred said, smiling.

Auden blew him a kiss and he pretended to catch it and put it on his cheek. "Love you, Aud."

"Love you too, Fred. See you soon?" she asked.

"Of course," Fred answered, with a wave. Seconds later, the mirror went blank.

* * *

That Saturday, Harry held Quidditch tryouts. Ron was looking sick to his stomach as he, Auden, and Harry walked down to the field together.

"Ron, you'll do fine. Your only problem is nerves," Auden said.

"Yeah, just relax and you'll do perfectly," Harry added.

Ron didn't say a word. He only shook his head, keeping his mouth clamped shut as if he thought he would vomit just by opening it.

Once they arrived at the field, Auden let out an awed whistle. There were a lot of people there, waiting to try out, including Ginny. Hermione was sitting in the stands with a book. She had promised to come cheer Ron on. She told Auden that he needed it the most and Auden had to agree. Ron was a good player, he just had a nerve and confidence problem.

As it turned out, half of the people there for tryouts weren't even in Gryffindor. They were Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs coming for a joke. After Harry realized what had happened, he sent them away, looking upset at the off start to the tryouts.

"Forget about them, they're just immature," Auden whispered.

Harry decided to start with the Chaser tryouts first. Ginny was one of the people trying out for the postion. She had filled in for Harry as Seeker the year before when he had been banned, but she told Auden that she preferred being a Chaser. "It's where all the action is," she had said.

"That was fantastic, you three," Harry commented to Ginny, Katie, and Auden as they finished their tryout. They had been the first three to try out because they were the only potential Chasers with any experience on the team.

"Thanks," Katie smiled as Auden high fived her and Ginny.

"I think we've got this tryout in the bag," Ginny said as the next three Chasers flew into the air.

"Don't say that," Katie answered. "You don't know if Harry will put us back on the team."

Ginny snorted and crossed her arms. "Those girls can't fly, just watch them."

"She's right," Auden admitted. The three girls tryout out now were sloppy and not very good at flying.

Auden noticed that a boy named Cormac McLaggen kept bothering Harry and commenting on everyone's flying ability. Harry appeared to be ignoring him. Or at least trying to.

"And are you considering putting Bell, Parker, and the Weasley girl on the team?" he asked. "They're good players, don't get me wrong, but let's admit that they're all friends of yours. People will get suspicious. You should pick other people who are just as good, if not better. And for Keeper, you should put me on, because, again, Weasley is your friend. And we all know he can't save a thing." McLaggen smirked as he quoted the song Malfoy had made up the year before.

Auden was considering hexing McLaggen on the spot, but just then, the bushes a few feet away rustled loudly. Auden stared at them for a few minutes in shock before taking a few steps back. Ginny and Katie were talking about the tryouts and didn't seem to have noticed.

Auden turned back to McLaggen, but he looked oddly confused and had stopped talking to Harry. Auden's eyes wandered to the stands behind McLaggen. Hermione was just slipping her wand away, looking smug. She looked over at Auden and shrugged as Auden raised her eyebrows. Then, she gave Hermione a thumbs up. Hermione was getting good at this whole rule breaking thing.

When it was time for the Keeper tryouts, McLaggen and Ron were the only two trying out. McLaggen, who normally was a very good player, only saved one goal. He had been flying to defend the goal post opposite the one the Quaffle was being thrown at.

Ron, on the other hand, saved four out of five goals. He did really well and it was clear who Harry was going to put on the team.

"This isn't fair!" McLaggen yelled, storming up to Harry at the end of tryouts. Ron had been made Keeper, Ginny, Auden and Katie were Chasers, and these two boys named Ritchie Coote and Jimmy Peakes had been made Beaters.

"What's not fair?" Harry asked. "Ron saved more goals than you. It has nothing to do with us being friends."

Cormac was positively furious. "What about the Chasers then?" he asked, pointing a finger at Ginny, Auden, and Katie, who all shared a look.

"They're on the team because they're good players. Again, it has nothing to do with me being friends with them," Harry said calmly.

"Yeah, right. That's a laugh," Cormac huffed.

"You told Harry earlier we were good players. I overheard you," Auden said with a smirk.

"You stay out of this!" Cormac roared. The bushes next to Auden rustled noisily again and she stared at them nervously.

Harry began walking back to the changing rooms, with Cormac tailing him the whole way. Once they were gone, Auden, Ginny, and Katie were the only ones left.

"Come on, let's go change," Katie said, grinning.

The bushes rustled again.

"I keep hearing those bushes rustling. Something's in there and I'm going to find out what it is," Auden said, marching over to them.

"Maybe you shouldn't," Katie said nervously.

Auden didn't listen. She was just bending down to look into the bush when something jumped out and tackled her to the ground. She screamed right along with Katie and Ginny. Auden scrunched her eyes closed, but then she heard Ginny laughing and Katie squealing with joy.

Auden opened her eyes and found herself staring into another pair of eyes that were a bright, twinkling blue.

"Fred!" she yelled happily. She tried to hug him, but her arms were being pressed into the ground by Fred's hands since he had just tackled her. She could see George standing next to Katie with his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Are you surprised?" Fred asked.

"Surprised? You scared the living daylights out of me! But, yes, I'm surprised," Auden said with a grin. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't stand it anymore. Not seeing you, I mean," he whispered.

Auden smiled. "Well, I'm glad you came. Would you mind letting me up now?"

"No, not just yet," Fred grinned. He leaned down quickly and gave her a kiss. He pulled away about an inch and grinned at Auden, who grinned right back before tilting her head upwards and kissing him again.

Fred rolled off of her and flopped back on his back. "Feel free to join us anytime," he said, looking over at George, Katie, and Ginny.

"I'm going to go change," Ginny said slowly, as if the last thing she wanted to do was spend time with her brothers and their girlfriends, but she was grinning all the same.

George and Katie sat down next to Auden and Fred and they were all silent for a minute.

"I almost cursed McLaggen for insulting you three and then yelling at you, Aud," Fred said, breaking the silence. He was lying flat on his back with his hands folded behind his head. "George stopped me, though."

"Trust me, I wanted to curse him too, but we couldn't do anything with a field full of people," George rolled his eyes.

Katie smiled and scooted closer to George, who put his arm around her and kissed her cheek.

Auden turned her head and smiled at Fred. "I'm just glad you're here," she said, reaching for his hand.

He smiled at her and continued to just stare into her eyes before Auden smiled excitedly, slid closer to him, and pointed to the sky. "What does that cloud look like to you? To me it looks like a cat."

Fred wrinkled his nose. "How do you work that one out?"

"See, there's the head, and the two ears. The left ears a little off but still…" Auden said, pointing with her finger.

"That one looks like an owl," Katie chimed in, pointing to another cloud.

"Yeah, if you squint with one eye and tilt your head sideways," George said, squinting and tilting his head.

"Shut up, George, I can see what Katie means," Auden said with a laugh.

"Thank you!" Katie exclaimed defiantly.

Auden laughed and moved closer to Fred, laying her head on his chest as he put his arm around her. They continued to look at the clouds until it was time for lunch.

"Do you have to go?" Auden asked as they stood up.

"Unfortunately," Fred answered, gently pulling a piece of grass out of Auden's hair. "I wish I could just stay here with you. I would stay all night, heck, I'd stay here forever if I could."

Auden smiled as Fred rested his forehead against hers. "109 days until Christmas," she reminded him.

"I can't wait," Fred whispered, kissing her gently and tangling one hand in her hair and putting the other around her waist.

"I love you," Auden whispered as he moved away.

"I love you too," he answered. His eyes had lost their usual twinkle and Auden knew that saying goodbye was just as hard for him as it was for her.

George and Katie had just finished saying goodbye and Katie came to stand near Auden as the twins gave one final wave before turning and heading towards the Hogwarts gates where it would be okay to Apparate.

"I guess we should go change," Auden said, not taking her eyes away from where the twins had just disappeared.

"Yeah, I guess we should," Katie answered.

"Race you," Auden grinned. Then, she began running as fast as she could towards the changing rooms.

"Hey, no fair, you got a head start!" Katie was yelling from behind her. Auden kept laughing and running until she reached the doorway to the room.

"I win!" she cheered.

"Yeah, because you cheated," Katie muttered, smiling.

"You're just a sore loser," Auden answered, heading further into the changing rooms and pulling her hair down from its ponytail.

"Better than being a cheater."

"That's what you think," Auden giggled.

* * *

**A/N: The title of this chapter is from the song ****_Perfect Day_**** by Hoku. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	21. Chapter 21: The Words I Couldn't Say

After Fred and George's surprise visit, things at Hogwarts went back to normal. Harry was attending his lessons with Dumbledore, although they were often spaced very far apart. It was rumored that Dumbledore had been leaving the school. Nobody knew where he had been going, not even Harry.

During Harry's lessons, Dumbledore had been taking him into memories that showed bits and pieces of Voldemort's past. Just hearing Harry retell the story of a young Voldemort, back then Tom Riddle, sitting in the orphanage as Dumbledore told him he was a wizard gave Auden goose bumps. Back then, nobody knew that such a small, good looking boy would grow up to do such horrible things.

On top of it all, Harry wouldn't shut up about Malfoy. He was so sure that Malfoy was up to something; that he had been given a secret mission to do; that he was a Death Eater. Ron and Hermione were clearly fed up with Harry's constant prying into Malfoy's business. Auden didn't know what to believe. She had to admit that Malfoy was acting weird. Harry had shown her how Malfoy would disappear from the Marauder's map completely and Malfoy had been looking quite ill during classes. Still, none of this proved that he was a Death Eater. It all added up, but there was no proof.

The first Quidditch match of the season arrived and Auden was excited beyond words. She couldn't wait to get out onto the field. Ron, however, looked as if he felt quite the opposite. He looked slightly green as he sat down to breakfast on the morning of the match.

"Eat something, Ron," Harry said urgently. "You need to eat."

Ron shook his head.

Auden sighed and picked up Ron's fork. She put some scrambled eggs on it and made whooshing noises. "Here comes the broomstick of scrambled eggs, flying into your mouth!" she said cheerily.

"Don't mention broomsticks," Ron said quietly, grabbing Auden's wrist and gently moving it away.

Auden shrugged. "It always worked when you wouldn't eat your mashed peas when we were babies."

"I hated mashed peas," Ron said.

"I know, and your mum always got you to eat them by pretending the spoon was a broomstick."

"At least drink some pumpkin juice," Harry said as Hermione sat down across from them.

"Harry!" she exclaimed, giving him a death glare. "Did you just do what I think you did?"

"What?" asked Harry.

"I'm confused, what did Harry supposedly do?" Auden asked.

"Don't drink that, Ron," Hermione warned, but it was too late. Ron was already gulping down the pumpkin juice.

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked.

"Harry put something in it."

"Don't know what you're talking about," Harry said. "Come on Ron, Auden. We should get down to the changing rooms."

Auden kept glancing at Harry suspiciously the whole way down to the changing rooms. She had figured out what Hermione was getting at, but she didn't want to say anything.

"Guess what?" Ginny asked as they reached the changing rooms. "Malfoy isn't playing today."

"Why not?" Harry asked, looking interested.

Ginny shrugged. "Who knows, but he's been replaced by someone else. I forget his name. Anyway, I don't think Crabbe and Goyle are playing either. Don't ask why, I don't know," she said as Harry opened his mouth.

"Wow, that's fishy, isn't it?" Harry asked as Ginny walked away.

"Lucky, I call it," Ron said. "Hey! Lucky!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"He said lucky," Auden said, raising her eyebrows.

"You put Felix Felicis in my drink at breakfast!" Ron exclaimed, his mouth falling open.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Harry said, shrugging. "Come on, we have to get onto the field."

Ron and Auden looked at each other as Harry walked away. Auden shrugged and followed Harry as Ron just looked confused.

The match began a few minutes later and Ron played wonderfully. He missed very few goals and played with a confidence that he never had before. Gryffindor ended up winning the match. Ron was overjoyed and wouldn't stop talking about it in the changing rooms.

Just as they had finished getting changed, Hermione burst into the room. "Harry!" she hissed, even though the only other people in the room were Ron and Auden.

"What?" Harry asked.

"You know what you did is illegal right?"

"Are you going to turn him in?" Ron asked.

"Ron, he put the lucky potion in your drink! That's why everything went right. Oh, Harry, didn't you hear Slughorn? This is bad."

"Hermione, calm down. Nobody has to even find out," Auden said.

"But that would be like lying, wouldn't it? I mean, it isn't right!"

"Says the person who Confunded McLaggen," Auden whispered so that Ron wouldn't hear. Hermione grew red and shut up enough for Harry to chime in.

"I didn't put anything in Ron's drink," he said, picking up his bag.

"But I saw you!" Hermione cried.

"You _thought _you saw me," Harry corrected. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vial Slughorn had given him. It was completely full and tightly sealed.

"You mean you didn't really put it in Ron's drink?" Hermione asked.

"No," Harry said. "I wanted him to think I did so that's why I pretended to pour it in when I knew you were looking, Hermione."

"So everything that happened today…?" Ron began. "The weather, Malfoy, my saving every goal."

"The weather and Malfoy not playing was just chance, but you saved every goal yourself. It was all you."

"Wow, you're brilliant, Harry!" Auden exclaimed.

Ron nodded in agreement before turning to Hermione. "See? I can play Quidditch! I don't need luck to play well."

"I didn't say you did," Hermione answered, looking shocked at Ron's sudden anger.

"'Ron, he put the lucky potion in your drink! That's why everything went right!'" Ron mimicked in a high pitched voice, before pushing past Hermione and heading towards the common room.

"Er, well, there's going to be a party up in the common room," Harry said. "Are you coming, Hermione?"

"No, not just yet," she said, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm rather upset with Ron right now."

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Auden asked gently.

"No, no, you two go on ahead. Enjoy the party, you deserve it."

"Okay," Harry said slowly. Auden followed him from the room, glancing back at Hermione as they left.

"So did Fred like the toilet seat?" Harry asked as they headed into the castle.

"Yeah," Auden said, giggling. "They hung it up in their flat."

"They did not!" Harry answered with a laugh.

"They did," Auden grinned. "It's to the extreme left of the fireplace, actually."

"Why didn't they center it?"

"I don't know, this is Fred and George we're talking about here," Auden shrugged.

They reached the common room and found it crowded with what seemed like the entire Gryffindor house. Someone had taken up Fred and George's job of sneaking food from the kitchen's and it was lying on tables around the room.

"Harry, there you are!" yelled Neville from across the room.

"How does it feel to have won your first match as captain, Harry?" Colin Creevey asked, snapping a picture with his camera. Auden laughed. The kid hadn't changed a bit.

"Er, great," Harry said, blinking from the flash.

"It's so great you were made captain. Do you like being captain? Is it fun? Would you take a picture with me?"

Auden laughed again and Harry gave her a look. "What? He's funny," she shrugged.

"Will you take the picture?" Colin asked Auden, sticking the camera in her hands without waiting for an answer.

"Smile!" Auden said cheerily as Colin excitedly stood by Harry. Harry looked less than thrilled but he managed to force a smile as Auden took the picture.

"Thanks for encouraging him," Harry said with a small smile as Colin ran away. He wanted to develop the picture right away.

Auden grinned back, before turning towards the fireplace. What she saw made her mouth drop open. "Harry, look!" she tugged on his sleeve and pointed to the middle of the room. Harry's mouth dropped open as well. Ron was standing there with his arms wrapped tightly around Lavender Brown and they were kissing furiously.

"Yeah, Ron!" Auden yelled with a laugh as she leaned against a table.

"Noticed him, have you?" Ginny asked, coming over to join Auden and Harry. "What a hypocrite."

"What are you talking about?" Auden asked.

"My dear brother walked in on me and Dean last week and he almost had a cow. I told him off for being the only one who thinks kissing is disgusting and now here he is, gluing his lips to Lavender's. It looks like he's eating her face, doesn't it?" Ginny shook her head and walked away as Auden burst out laughing. It did look like Ron was trying to swallow Lavender's head whole.

There was a sound like a quiet sob from behind Auden. She and Harry turned around to see Hermione standing at the portrait hole, staring at Ron and Lavender. Then, she turned and ran out of the room.

"I'll go," Auden said, grabbing Harry's arm to stop him from following Hermione. "You stay here. Socialize, have fun." She grinned at Harry before leaving the room.

Hermione was in the first empty classroom that Auden checked. She was sitting on a desk, sniffling and her eyes were red. Circling her head were four little yellow birds.

"I was practicing," Hermione said quietly, gazing up at the birds.

Auden sat down on the desk next to Hermione. "Is there something you want to share with the class?" Auden asked. "And by class, I mean me."

Hermione was silent. She continued to stare up at the birds before looking at Auden. "I like Ron," she whispered. She looked at Auden as if she expected her to laugh.

"That's not a surprise," Auden said, shrugging. "I'm glad you finally admitted it to me though. Admitting you have a problem is always the first step to solving it." Auden grinned.

"I'm serious, Aud, this is no time for jokes," Hermione said, continuing to sniffle.

"No, I suppose it isn't. So you like Ron, but Ron is-,"

"Kissing Lavender Brown, yes," Hermione finished.

"I suppose this is how he felt when you were with Viktor," Auden said fairly.

"Not help-, wait you mean he was jealous?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I always thought you two liked each other, even if neither one of you realized it," Auden shrugged again.

"But he's with Lavender now! He's clearly moved on even if he did like me before," Hermione began sobbing again and buried her head in her hands.

"Ron's not very smart with girls. I've known him for years, so trust me when I say he probably has no idea how you feel."

"And that's good?" Hermione asked.

"Well, it means he's not intentionally trying to hurt you or make you jealous," Auden pointed out.

Just then, the door opened and Ron came in, pulling Lavender by the hand. Really, the boy had wonderful timing.

"Oh, sorry," Ron said awkwardly as Lavender giggled and backed out of the room. "Did I interrupt something? Girl talk?"

"Yeah you did, actually," Auden said simply.

"But we're through here now," Hermione sniffed. "Come on, Auden." She grabbed Auden's arm and pulled her to the door. "Oppugno!" she yelled, pointing her wand at the birds. They sped towards Ron and began pecking and scratching at every exposed bit of skin.

Before Auden could do or say anything, Hermione pulled her from the room and past Lavender without a word.

The days turned into months and eventually it was the beginning of December. There was less than a month until Christmas, something that Auden had not yet failed to remind Fred every time she wrote to him or talked to him through the mirrors. Auden was especially cheery on the first Hogsmeade trip of the month.

"Where should we go?" she asked as she set off down the village street with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. Hermione and Ron were speaking again, but just barely. Ron still couldn't figure out what he had done wrong. Like Auden had said, he was an idiot when it came to girls. She refused to say anything when he pestered her about Hermione's anger. Half out of loyalty to Hermione and half because she thought Hermione should tell him herself when she was ready.

"Honeydukes," Ron said in response to Auden's question. "It'll be warm in there, and it's the closest. Plus, I want to buy some Every Flavor Beans."

"Of course you do," Auden said with a smile.

They stopped in Honeydukes and Ron bought his Every Flavor Beans. When they were done, Harry suggested they go to the Three Broomsticks.

"What did you buy Fred for Christmas?" Ron asked, his mouth full.

"Well, since it's Christmas and our anniversary kind of at the same time, I couldn't decide if I should get him two separate, smaller gifts, or one really nice gift. In the end, I chose to get him one really nice gift, so I ended up getting him a new broom. I know he doesn't play Quidditch anymore, but he really needed a new one. His Cleansweep was pretty beat up."

"He'll love it," Harry said comfortingly. "What kind of broom did you get him?"

"A Firebolt," Auden answered.

"Blimey, Aud, where did you ever get the money to pay for that?" Ron asked.

"I've been saving up. In the end I was a little bit short, so mum and dad helped out a little."

"I thought you were saving up to buy yourself a new broom?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I was, but I decided to get one for Fred instead," Auden admitted. "I can get one another time."

"Wow," Hermione said. "That's really sweet of you."

Auden smiled at the compliment as they entered the Three Broomsticks. As usual, it was crowded with students. They had just gotten their drinks and sat down, when Lavender came out of nowhere and jumped onto Ron's lap. "Won Won!" she yelled, planting a kiss on his cheek. Auden spit a mouthful of butterbeer back into her glass as she laughed.

"Er, hey Lavender," Ron said, grinning, although rather awkwardly.

"I've told you a million times, Won Won," Lavender said. "We're dating. You should have a pet name for me, like Lav Lav."

"Lav Lav?" asked Hermione dryly. This time, it was Harry who choked on his butterbeer.

Ron and Lavender were kissing now, and Hermione looked like she wanted to set one of Hagrid's skrewts on Ron this time, but instead, she stood up. "Come on, Auden, Harry, let's leave them alone," she said, pressing her lips together.

"Er," Harry began, and Auden saw his problem. He was on the inside of the booth and Ron and Lavender were on the outside, preventing him from leaving.

"Don't worry, Harry, I've got this under control," Auden said. She cleared her throat before yelling "Oi, lovebirds!" Ron and Lavender jumped apart. "Harry needs to get out of the seat."

"Oh," Ron and Lavender slid out of the booth to let Harry out.

"I told you I'd get you back for interrupting me and Fred," Auden added, smirking at Ron.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"Back to school," Hermione said at once.

"I'll come too," Ron replied quickly. "Er, Lavender, you don't mind if we continue this later on?"

"Oh, okay," Lavender said with a pout. "I'll see you in the common room!"

"Great, wonderful," Ron smiled as Lavender skipped away to sit with Parvati and her twin sister, Padma.

"Come on, let's go," Hermione said icily, leading the way out the door. To break the somewhat awkward silence, Harry brought up the subject of Malfoy once again. He still had been disappearing from the map and that added to the fact that he had missed the last Quidditch match had made Harry even more suspicious of him. Auden had noticed changes in Malfoy too. He was even more sullen than usual and rarely made his usual cracks at the Gryffindors. It still didn't prove anything, though.

As they were talking, Auden noticed Katie was walking ahead of them with one of her friends, whose name was Leanne. They were clearly arguing and Katie wasn't acting like herself. She was almost yelling at Leanne and Katie wasn't one to pick fights and she rarely yelled.

Auden told the others to be quiet so she could hear what Katie was saying.

"I told you, Leanne, I'm supposed to deliver this package to Dumbledore. It's important!"

"But you said you just found it in the bathroom. How do you know you're supposed to give it to Dumbledore?" Leanne asked.

"I just do!" Katie snapped.

"Katie?" Auden began, walking faster to try and catch up. "Katie, what's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Katie snapped again and Auden recoiled. Something was most definitely wrong.

"Katie, give me the package," Leanne said. She tried to take it from her, but Katie pulled it away. The package ripped, revealing an opal necklace.

Suddenly, Katie began floating in the air. "Katie? Katie come down!" Leanne screamed.

"Katie, what's going on?" Auden yelled.

Katie either couldn't hear them or couldn't answer them, because she remained silent until she was well into the air above them. Then, she began screaming a horrible, bloodcurdling scream.

"I'm going to get help!" Harry said, running the other way.

Leanne was crying now and Auden couldn't blame her. Part of her wanted to start crying out of shock and fear, but the stronger part of her told her to stay calm and she did. "Katie, can you hear me?" she yelled. There was no answer. Katie just continued to scream before she fell to the ground.

"Don't move!" Hagrid yelled, coming into sight with Harry in tow. Auden had just started to run towards Katie, but froze when she heard Hagrid's voice. "What happened?" he asked Leanne.

"We were arguing," Leanne sobbed. "We were in the Three Broomsticks when Katie said she had to go to the bathroom. She came out carrying that package saying that she had to deliver it to Professor Dumbledore. She wouldn't tell me who gave it to her. I don't even know if she knew, she just said she found it." Leanne began sobbing harder and she couldn't even speak.

"Then," Hermione picked up the story where Leanne left off. "Leanne tried to take the package from Katie, but it ripped, and Katie floated into the air and began screaming."

Everyone looked down at the now unconscious Katie before Hagrid scooped her into his arms. "I'm bringin' her ter the hospital wing. Harry, I want yeh ter take that necklace. Be sure not ter touch it. Use yeh scarf or something, and bring it ter Professor Snape, right away. Leanne, yeh should go with them so you can tell Professor Snape what happened. Auden, come with me."

"What do you need me for, Hagrid?" Auden asked. She was still shaken up by the attack.

"You should sit with Katie in the hospital wing. Yeh know, in case she wakes up, she'll want to see a friendly face," Hagrid said gruffly. "Besides, you'll need to tell Madame Pomfrey what happened."

Hagrid dropped Katie off in the hospital wing. Auden explained what had happened to a horrified Madam Pomfrey. "How would she have gotten such a cursed object inside the castle?"

"Well, she never got that far, so nobody knows," Hagrid shrugged. "I best be going now. Keep me updated, Auden."

Auden agreed and turned back to Katie as Hagrid left. Madam Pomfrey was poking and prodding at Katie's unconscious figure with her lips pressed together. Auden bit her lip. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

Madam Pomfrey looked up to meet Auden's eyes. "I don't know, dear, I just don't know. It appears that she only touched the object through a small hole in her glove. It seems that the magic was so strong that if she had touched it with completely bare skin, she would have died instantly."

Auden paled. "But she didn't, so she'll be okay, right?"

"I'm not sure. Her condition is still very serious. We're going to have to send her to St Mungo's."

"Why? Can't you do something?" Auden asked frantically.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head. "This type of injury is out of my hands. The Healers at St. Mungo's should be able to fix her completely. I do hope…"

"What?" Auden prompted.

"I do hope it isn't fatal. It's hard to tell with magic like this. She did touch the necklace with the tiniest amount of skin, but this magic appears to be strong, like I said before."

Auden paled even further as Madame Pomfrey hustled off to contact St. Mungo's. The next thing that popped into her mind was George. Should she write him and tell him or leave it to someone else? Either way, he was going to be devastated. If she were in his position, if it were Fred lying here, she would want to know right away. Auden decided to write to the twins now. They deserved to know, especially George.


	22. Chapter 22: I Lie Awake and Miss You

_Dear Fred and George,_

_I have some bad news. It's really hard for me to tell you this, but Katie's being brought to St. Mungo's as I write this letter. Harry, Ron, Hermione and I were walking behind Katie and her friend Leanne on the way back from Hogsmeade and we overheard them arguing. Katie was acting really strange and unlike her usual self. She was carrying a package and she was telling Leanne that she had to deliver it to Dumbledore and she wouldn't say who gave it to her. Apparently she just found it in the bathroom. _

_Anyway, Leanne tried to take the package from her and it ripped. There was a cursed necklace inside. Madame Pomfrey says that it touched Katie's skin through a tiny hole in her glove, but anyway, Katie started floating in the air. Leanne and I were yelling to her but she couldn't hear us. Then, she started screaming and flailing around in the air. It was awful. Harry went for help and came back with Hagrid who took Katie to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey couldn't do anything for her. She doesn't think it will be fatal since Katie only touched the necklace was a small amount of skin, but she can't be sure. She was still unconscious when the Healers came to pick her up. I think you should head over there. She'll need some company and I know she'll want to see George when she wakes up. I'm sure she'll be perfectly fine, she just needs some time to get better. I miss you both. Keep me posted on how Katie's doing when you go see her. _

_Love, Auden_

Auden sent the letter off with Polka before walking slowly to the common room. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were sitting by the fire, talking quietly.

"Harry seems to think that Malfoy gave Katie the necklace to bring to the castle," Hermione said to Auden as she sat down on the couch.

"Maybe he did," Auden shrugged.

"What, he went into the girls bathroom and Katie agreed to take something Malfoy gave her?" Ron asked.

"Snape and McGonagall think Katie might've been Imperiused and Leanne said Katie came back from the bathroom with it, but it doesn't mean she got it in the bathroom. Plus, I've seen the necklace before," Harry said, staring into the fire.

"You have? Where?" Auden asked.

"When I first used Floo Powder back in second year and ended up in Knockturn Alley. The necklace was on display in Borgin and Burkes and the sign said it was cursed. Then, Malfoy and his dad came into the store and when I was hiding from them, Malfoy showed interest in the necklace."

"So you think he went back for it and tried to curse someone?" Auden asked.

"Apparently Dumbledore," Harry nodded. "Do you believe me that Malfoy's up to something?"

"I don't know, mate," Ron said quietly. "I mean, Malfoy definitely wanted something from Borgin and Burkes, but my dad searched their manor and found nothing-,"

"It was the necklace, and he brought it to school with him!" Harry said rather loudly.

"But Harry, Borgin asked Malfoy if he wanted to take whatever he asked for with him and Malfoy said no," Hermione said.

"Because he didn't want to touch it!" Harry was practically yelling now.

"What he actually said was, 'how would I look carrying that down the street?'" Hermione corrected calmly.

"Well, he would look a bit silly carrying a necklace," Ron said and Auden gave a short laugh at the thought.

"Well, Ron," Hermione said, "it would be wrapped up so he wouldn't have to touch it and it would be quite easy to hide inside a cloak or bag so that nobody would see. I think whatever he wanted from the store was noisy or bulky. Anyway, I asked Borgin about the necklace, remember? When I went in to try to find out what Malfoy had asked him to keep, I saw it there and Borgin just told me the price, he didn't say it was sold already."

"Well, you were being obvious," Harry said. It seemed like he was trying to say anything to prove Hermione wrong.

"Harry could be right," Auden said thoughtfully.

"Well you weren't there when we went to see McGonagall and Harry seems to have forgotten that she said that Malfoy wasn't in Hogsmeade today," Hermione sniffed.

"Oh yeah, he had detention," Ron added.

"What about Crabbe and Goyle?" Auden asked.

"Aha, yeah try and worm your way out of that one, Hermione!" Harry said, leaning back in his chair.

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. All I know is we have no proof that Malfoy is a Death Eater, we have no proof he bought the necklace, and we have no proof he gave it to Katie."

"You have to admit it's all very strange, though," Ron added.

"Yes, it is. I will admit that," Hermione nodded.

They sat in the common room for another hour or two. The discussion shifted from Malfoy eventually and Auden was glad. She didn't really want to talk about him or the day's events anymore. Suddenly, she heard a tapping on the window. It was Polka. Auden stood up to open the window. She took the letter attached to the owl's leg and unfolded it as she shut the window.

_Dear Auden,_

_Thank you for letting us know about Katie. George freaked out when he read the letter and I really couldn't blame him. If it were you in Katie's position, I would have reacted the same way. _

_We went to visit Katie as soon as we got your letter and we stayed for a few hours. Actually, we just got back not too long ago. George already went to bed. He's really worried about her, Aud. I've rarely ever seen him this worried. The only other time I can remember is when Ginny was taken into the Chamber of Secrets. Anyway, the look on his face when he saw Katie lying there unconscious was heartbreaking. I practically had to drag him away from her so we could go home. Half of me wanted to let him stay but we needed to get back. She apparently hadn't made much progress by the time we got there. The Healers expect her to be okay though. They say she's lucky and that she escaped death by an inch. Thank goodness._

_Who do you think Imperiused her and gave her the necklace? It's all George was asking. He wants to find them and beat them to a pulp. I suggested giving them every Skiving Snackbox we created all at once. He seemed to like that idea too. At least, he cracked a smile when I mentioned it. Imagine getting a fever, fainting, vomiting, and getting a raging nosebleed all at once?_

_Anyway, I miss you. You failed to mention in your last letter how many days there are until Christmas Eve, but under the circumstances, it is quite understandable. In fact, I went through the trouble to figure out the number of days for you this time. Figured you'd appreciate the change. So, ahem, there are thirteen days left until Christmas Eve. We're almost into single digits here! I love you. So, so much._

_Love, Fred_

The corners of Auden's mouth twitched up into a smile. Fred could always make her smile, no matter what. And even better, Katie was going to be alright!

"Is that from Fred? Did he and George go see Katie?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Yes, and the Healers expect her to be okay, but she's still unconscious," Auden answered.

"Thank goodness," Hermione sighed.

"She's probably going to be really weak, though," Harry said, although he had cracked a smile too.

"Do you think she'll be able to still play Quidditch?" Ron asked.

"Oh, Ron, how could you think about that at a time like this?" Hermione sounded exasperated.

Harry looked shocked, as though that idea hadn't even crossed his mind all day. Which, it probably hadn't seeing Harry had been too preoccupied with Malfoy. "I doubt she will be. I'm going to have to find a replacement."

"Ginny mentioned to me the other day that Dean was interested in playing Chaser but he didn't make it to the tryouts," Auden said hesitantly.

Harry looked sick at the mention of Dean's name. "Yes, well, I should probably hold more tryouts so I can get a look at everyone who's interested."

"Uh-huh," Auden said, giving Harry a look. "Whatever you say. You are the captain after all." She grinned and patted Harry's head on the way up to the girl's dorms.

"Hey, don't sass the captain," Harry joked. Auden stuck her tongue out halfway up the stairs.

"What was she talking about, Harry?" Ron asked.

"You wouldn't know," Hermione answered, snapping her book shut and heading towards the dormitory stairs as well. "You're too blind to see things like that."

"Now what's _she _talking about?" Ron asked, looking dumbstruck.

"Not a clue," Harry shrugged with an amused grin at Ron.

Lavender chose that moment to fly out of nowhere like she had a habit of doing. Harry managed to get up to the boys dormitory without either of the two noticing.

* * *

"So, Harry, you have to go to Slughorn's Christmas party. He keeps asking me if you're coming," Hermione said to Harry at breakfast a few days later. It was December 15th. Slughorn was hosting a party for members of his "Slug Club," which was basically a group for students that were famous or had famous relatives. Hermione and Ginny were also always invited to his parties because, well, Hermione was a genius and Slughorn had witnessed Ginny use the Bat Bogey Hex on someone. Ginny was so good at the Bat Bogey Hex, it was almost frightening.

"Why is it that I'm never invited to these things?" Ron mumbled.

"It's okay, Ron, I'm not invited either," Auden patted his arm. "I guess we aren't special enough."

"We're allowed to bring dates," Hermione continued. "And I was _going _to bring you, Ron, but," she sniffed, "you're currently unavailable."

Ron's ears grew red and he mumbled something incoherent.

"I guess I can't get out of going to the party this time," Harry sighed.

"Who are you going to ask as your date?" Hermione asked. "I mean, Cormac asked me yesterday and I said yes. I do like Quidditch players. At least good ones anyway." She sniffed again and flipped a page of the newspaper.

Ron was staring at Hermione with his mouth open. Auden was smirking. She knew Hermione didn't like McLaggen at all, but Ron didn't know that.

"Er, I don't know who I'm going to ask," Harry said awkwardly. "Will you come with me, Aud?"

"Eh, doesn't sound like my kind of group of people. Besides you, Hermione, and Ginny of course. I think I'll just keep Ron company."

"Ron doesn't need company. Not when he has Lav Lav," Hermione said icily.

"Good point, Hermione. Won Won's been ditching us lately, haven't you, Ron? We haven't had a game of wizard's chess in ages. Lately, you've been more interested in tonsil chess with Lavender."

"Be quiet," Ron whispered, staring at his eggs.

"Ah, not so fond of the teasing when it's you on the other end of it, are you?" Auden joked, nudging him. Ron said nothing.

"So will you go to the party with me, Aud?" Harry asked. "Please? As a favor, so I don't have to go alone?"

"Fine," Auden answered. "But only because I don't want to stick around the common room to watch the game of tonsil chess, as intense as it sounds."

Ron's ears grew red and he began shoveling eggs into his mouth as if determined not to speak.

That night, Auden had some free time after her homework, so she wrote back to Fred. She had been so busy that she had never gotten to respond to his letter about Katie.

_Dear Fred,_

_I'm glad Katie's going to be okay. How's George? I feel terrible that he has to go through something like this. Give him a hug for me. Or one of those boy handshakes that every male specimen seems to know. Whatever's less awkward for you. _

_Harry's holding Quidditch tryouts after Christmas to get a new Chaser on the team since Katie won't be up to playing for a while. It's going to be tough finding someone good enough to replace her. _

_As for who gave Katie the necklace, Harry thinks Malfoy gave Katie the necklace. I don't know. Some parts of his theory fit, and some parts don't. I'm not sure what to believe. Ron's on the fence about it as well, but Hermione seems to be having a hard time believing Harry. I think the Snackbox idea is a great one, Malfoy or no Malfoy. I have a genius for a boyfriend. _

_Thank you for reminding me how many days until Christmas Eve. It was a nice change. As of right now, there are eight more days. Single digits! Soon we'll be able to count on one hand! _

_Oh, and the new Potions teacher is holding this Christmas party on the 22nd. He's been holding little parties all year for student's with famous relatives and he's been bugging Harry to go but Harry always worms out of them. Anyway, he can't worm out of this one and he asked me to go with him. Just as friends, obviously, but I didn't even want to go. Not really the type of people I hang around with, but Harry was desperate. So that's the news around here. Boring Christmas parties, boring classes, and boring homework. Gag me. Anyway, see you in eight days!_

_Love, Auden_

She got a reply the morning of Slughorn's Christmas party.

_Dear Aud,_

_George is better now that he knows for sure that Katie will be fine. She's still unconscious, but she's been mumbling in her sleep now, something she wasn't doing before. I gave George a hug. The Weasley family gives hugs, not handshakes. You should know that by now. Anyway, George appreciated it and told me to tell you thanks._

_Malfoy is a git and on one hand I wouldn't be surprised if he was behind the necklace thing, but is he really that evil? I don't know, I'd have to hear Harry's theory, but I'd like to give him every Snackbox we own just for being his usual dirty rotten self. _

_Have fun at that Christmas party tonight. What kind of famous relatives do these kids have? Are they all the scholarly type? If they are, then good luck mingling with people that Percy would idolize. Anyway, even I'd go to that party if it meant I could go with you. _

_That reminds me…two days until I get to see you! We can count on one hand! I haven't seen you since the Quidditch tryouts in September. That's way too long. I'm not sure if I remember what you look like or if I even remember how great your hugs and kisses are. You'll have to remind me when I see you, insert winky face here. _

_Have a safe trip home tomorrow and I'll see you on Christmas Eve._

_Love, your handsome boyfriend, Fred_

Auden was grinning as she got ready for the Christmas party. Fred's letters always put her in a better mood. She had a red dress picked out for the party that went down to just past her knees and the flower that Hermione had given her for her birthday.

"Ready to go?" Hermione asked.

"Ready," Auden answered as they left the dorm together to meet up with Cormac and Harry.

"Hello, Hermione, Auden," Cormac said formally as they approached.

"You look nice, Auden," Harry added.

"Hello Cormac, and thank you, Harry," Auden smiled. "Let's get this thing over with, shall we?"

Cormac looked slightly appalled at the fact that Auden wanted to get such an overly anticipated (for some people) party over with.

Harry, however, grinned. "I couldn't agree with you more."

Auden grinned back and they marched through the portrait hole together, towards a party that was sure to be less than amazing.


	23. Chapter 23: Because You Live

The Christmas party was already crowded with people by the time Harry and Auden arrived. Slughorn's office was decorated rather over the top with lots of lanterns and colored banners. House elves were walking around carrying trays of food and drinks.

"Harry!" yelled Slughorn, appearing through a small crowd of people. "Come in, come in. There are so many people that I want you to meet!" He grabbed Harry's arm and began dragging him through the crowd.

"Come on," Harry hissed to Auden as he grabbed her arm and pulled her along with them.

"Harry, this is Eldred Worple. He's an old student of mine and he is also the author of _Blood Brothers: My Life Amongst the Vampires._ And this is his friend Sanguini."

Auden took a small step away from Sanguini. She realized he was the vampire rumored to be attending the party.

"Don't worry, young lady," Worple said, as he shook Harry's hand energetically. "Sanguini is well trained. Anyway, Harry, I was just saying to Horace the other day how wonderful it would be to have a Harry Potter biography!"

"Oh, er, were you?" Harry asked.

"Just as modest as you said, Horace!" Worple boomed. "I would be thrilled to write it myself. All we'd need is a few interviews and the rest would involve very little on your part. Just ask Sanguini…Sanguini stay here!" he ordered. The vampire had been inching towards a small group of girls a few feet away.

"Well trained, my eye," Auden whispered to Harry, who snorted.

"So are you interested, Harry?" Worple asked.

"No, I don't think so," Harry answered.

"Are you sure?" Slughorn asked. "This is a great honor!"

"I'm positive. Er, I've just seen a friend of mine. Excuse us, sorry." Harry grabbed Auden's arm again and dragged her to the other side of the room where Hermione was hiding in a corner behind one of the banners.

"Oh, hello," Hermione said, out of breath. Her hair was coming out and she looked rather disheveled.

"Having fun with Cormac, then?" Auden asked, smirking.

"Oh, hush," Hermione said, peering around them. "Quite the opposite, actually. I'm hiding from him. I've just left him under the mistletoe. Shield me in case he comes looking."

"We're already behind this banner," Auden said.

"Just do it," Hermione waved her hands frantically.

"It serves you right for coming with him," Harry shrugged.

"I thought he'd annoy Ron the most," Hermione sighed. "I considered Zacharias too but in the end I thought Cormac was the better option."

"Zacharias Smith?" Auden asked, making a face.

"Yes, now let's go back this way. We'll be able to see Cormac if he comes looking for me."

They walked back towards the other side of the room to another empty corner. "Are you planning to tell Ron that you interfered at tryouts?" Harry asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Do you really think I'd stoop that low?"

"You did ask out Cormac," Auden said, taking a sip of a drink she had taken off of one of the tables.

"That's different," Hermione sniffed. "Anyway, I have no plans to tell Ron anything."

"Good, because he'll fall apart again and we'll lose the next match. I already have to find a replacement for Katie," Harry said.

"Is that all you boys can think about? Quidditch?" Hermione asked furiously. "It's all Cormac's been talking about all night."

"Speaking of Cormac, he's coming this way," Auden said, gesturing with her glass.

"Oh no, see you later!" Hermione turned and disappeared so fast, it was like she vanished into thin air.

"Harry!" yelled Slughorn, finding them once again. "How are you enjoying the party?"

"Er, it's loads of fun," Harry said.

"Good, good! And what about you, Miss Parker?"

"Oh, yes, it's great," Auden said, nodding.

"Yes, good. Harry, I was talking with Severus the other day and I happened to mention your great Potions ability. Tell me, what do you wish to do when you leave school?"

"I want to be an Auror," Harry said proudly.

"An Auror! Excellent!" Slughorn boomed, clapping Harry on the back.

Auden stared around the room as she tuned Slughorn and Harry's conversation out. It was then that she noticed Malfoy being dragged towards them by Filch. "Harry, look," she hissed.

"Professor Slughorn," Filch wheezed, coming up to them. "I discovered this student in an upstairs corridor. He says that he was invited to your party and was delayed in getting here. Is this true?"

"All right, I wasn't invited!" Malfoy declared angrily, pulling away from Filch. "I was trying to sneak in. Are you happy now?"

"No," said Filch. "You're in trouble. The headmaster stated specifically that no students are allowed out at night without permission.

Auden was staring at Malfoy's face intently. He was paler than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes. He looked terrible. Auden almost felt bad.

"What are you staring at?" Malfoy snapped, noticing her gaze.

"Nothing, I-, are you okay?" Auden asked.

"I'm fine and it's none of your business anyway." Draco answered, but his voice wavered. Auden raised her eyebrows but shrugged.

"That's quite alright, Argus," Slughorn was saying. "It's not a crime to want to come to a party. And after all, it's Christmas! We'll forget about punishment this time. Draco, you may stay."

Suddenly, Snape appeared out of nowhere. "What is going on here?" he asked slowly.

"Draco here was trying to crash the party, but I'm letting him stay," Slughorn beamed.

"I'd like a word with you, Draco," Snape said, his face unreadable as always. "Follow me."

Snape led the way to the other side of the room and out the door. Harry gave Auden a look.

"Oh, Harry, you aren't thinking what I think you're thinking are you?"

"Oh yes I am. Come on," Harry said, grabbing Auden's arm and dragging her towards the door. Once in the hallway, Harry pulled out his invisibility cloak and threw it over both himself and Auden.

They ran as quickly and silently as they could, stopping to listen at every door for the sounds of voices. Finally, at the last door in the hallway, they could hear Snape's voice.

"…cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled-,"

"I didn't have anything to do with it, okay?" Draco said.

"I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy and foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it."

"Who suspects me?" Malfoy snapped. "I've said it before and I'll say it again…I didn't do it! Katie must have had an enemy nobody knows about. Anyway, I know what you're doing and it won't work. I can stop you!"

"Ah," Snape said in almost a whisper after a short pause. "Your Aunt Bellatrix has been teaching you Occlumency, I see. What are you trying to hide, Draco?"

"I'm not trying to hide anything! I just don't want you interfering with my business."

Auden and Harry looked at each other under the cloak. Malfoy usually got along well with Snape, often saying he was his favorite teacher.

"Listen to me," Snape said quietly. "I am trying to help you. I swore to your mother that I would protect you. I made the Unbreakable Vow."

"You'll have to break it then, because I don't need you to protect me. It's my job. He gave it to me and I'm doing it. I've got a plan and it's going to work. It's just taking a little longer than I thought."

"What is the plan?" Snape asked.

"None of your business," Malfoy snapped.

"I can help you if you would just tell me."

"I don't need assistance. I'm not alone in this. I have Crabbe and Goyle, but they were in detention tonight because of you! Anyway, it doesn't matter. I have others on my side. Better people, in fact. You're just trying to steal my glory, aren't you?"

"Draco, you are speaking like a child. I know your father's imprisonment has upset you but-,"

Harry and Auden never got to hear the rest. Footsteps were approaching the door. Harry pulled Auden out of the way as Malfoy flung the door open and marched away. Snape followed him soon after, looking up and down the hallway before heading in the opposite direction from where Auden and Harry were standing.

"Wow," Auden whispered, once Snape had disappeared back into the party.

"See? Haven't I been saying this? Malfoy is up to something. He was given a job…by _him._"

Auden was nodding. "This doesn't prove he attacked Katie though."

"He could be lying about not doing it, but this definitely proves he's up to something, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does," Auden agreed. "And Snape's trying to help him."

* * *

Harry was itching to tell Ron and Hermione about what he and Auden had overheard, but Hermione had already gone to bed when they got back and she spent the train ride back to King's Cross in a different compartment, because Lavender had invited herself to sit with Ron, Harry and Auden.

"I'm considering getting up and leaving to find Hermione," Auden said as she watched Lavender and Ron kissing on the seat across from her and Harry.

"I'm considering coming with you, actually," Harry said, an uncomfortable look on his face.

"No, don't." Ron broke away from Lavender and gently pushed her off his lap.

"I don't understand why you seem to be so disgusted by Ron and I kissing," Lavender sniffed, looking at Auden. "You never seemed to care what other people might be thinking when you would do the same with Fred."

Auden snorted and shot Lavender a look. "I don't know what you're talking about. I never tried to eat Fred's face whole."

Lavender scowled and stood up before marching out of the compartment.

"Sorry," Ron muttered.

"You shouldn't be sorry as much as _she_ should be sorry," Auden said. "She's the one always flinging herself at you. Why you keep letting her is beyond me."

"All she ever wants to do is snog me," Ron groaned.

"Why don't you tell her to go away, then?" Auden asked, putting her feet up on the space Lavender had just vacated. She honestly didn't even know why Ron had stayed with Lavender so long or how he had gotten into a relationship with her in the first place. It seemed to her as if after that initial kiss, he didn't even want to be around her anymore.

"I can't," Ron said, his eyes going wide as he shook his head. "It's like she won't take no for an answer."

Auden sighed and looked at Harry. "Well, now that Lav Lav's gone and Ron has his lips to himself again, do you want to tell him about last night?"

"What about last night?" Ron asked. "Did something happen at the party?"

Harry nodded, but before he could speak, Ron interrupted.

"Did-did it look like Hermione and McLaggen had fun?" he stuttered, looking at the ground.

Auden smiled. "No," she said. "Not really."

"Oh," Ron said with a nod. "Okay, then."

"Anyway," Harry said, "Malfoy was up to something last night. Filch caught him out wandering around. Malfoy said he was going to the party, but he actually hadn't been invited. Snape wanted to talk to him, so Auden and I tailed them under the cloak."

"And what did you hear?" Ron asked.

Harry glanced at Auden before launching into relaying the conversation.

"You're sure he said an Unbreakable Vow?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Auden said, almost grimly. "It's definitely what he said."

"Why?" Harry asked.

"Well, it's just that...you can't break an Unbreakable Vow," Ron said, glancing at Auden.

"What happens if you do?" Harry asked.

"You die," Ron told him with a slight shrug. "It's a very serious bit of magic. I almost got roped into making one with Fred when I was little. We were holding hands and everything when Dad caught us. It was the angriest I've ever seen him, actually. Fred claims his left buttock has never been the same since."

Auden giggled as Harry wrinkled his nose. He looked at Auden when she laughed and raised an eyebrow. "You would know for sure, wouldn't you?" he teased.

"Harry!" she mock-scolded, laughing again and giving him a playful shove.

The train eventually arrived at King's Cross, where Harry, Ron and Auden found Mrs. Weasley and Mrs. Parker waiting for them.

"Oh, we're so excited you're back!" Auden's mother squealed, hugging Auden before moving on to Ron and Harry.

"Good to see you three!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, hugging Auden tightly. "We're going to need your help preparing for Christmas dinner. Remus and Tonks will be joining us for Christmas Eve, and Remus will be staying overnight and into Christmas day. Tonks will be spending Christmas day with her family. Bill and Fleur are also staying, so we'll have a full house."

"That just gave me a headache, mum," Ron said. "I can't keep track of all that."

"I'll be glad to help, Mrs. Weasley," Auden laughed.

"Thank you, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling warmly.

Once they arrived home, Auden and her mother stopped by their house to drop off Auden's things before walking next door to the Burrow.

"Ah, Auden dear, I have Harry and Ron peeling sprouts for tonight's dinner, but I want you to go put these sheets on the extra bed in Ginny's room where you'll be sleeping tonight." She was grinning widely and Auden sensed that something was up, but she didn't say anything.

She made her way up the stairs anyway, reaching for the doorknob with the free hand that wasn't holding the sheets. She pushed the door open and her jaw dropped. Fred was lounging on Ginny's bed and George was sitting on the window seat. They were home a day early!

"Surprise!" Fred grinned.

"You're here, you're really here!" Auden screamed. She dropped the sheets and raced over to Ginny's bed, throwing herself onto the bed. Fred began tickling her sides, causing Auden to laugh and flail around. "George, save me!"

"No can do, Aud," George smirked, grabbing her wrists and holding them so Fred could tickle her under her arms.

Fred finally stopped tickling Auden and she sat up on the end up the bed. "I thought you weren't going to be here until tomorrow morning."

"Well, that's what we originally planned," Fred grinned.

"But we decided that coming home a day early couldn't hurt," George continued. He leaned over to inspect the Gwenog Jones Quidditch poster hanging on Ginny's wall before waving his wand and causing a moustache to appear on Gwenog's face.

"Ginny will love that," Auden smirked.

"I'm sure she will," George smirked.

"So how are you, George?" Auden asked.

George's smile faltered. "I'm okay. Katie's going to be fine. She hasn't woken up yet but she's going to be okay."

"Good," Auden said quietly.

"We were thinking of visiting her today. Want to come?" Fred asked.

"Sure," Auden answered.

"We should probably go now, or in the next few minutes at least," Fred said, sitting up and heading towards the door.

"Wait, I have to put these sheets on the bed. It'll only take a minute," Auden said picking up the sheets.

Fred waved his wand with a smile and the sheets put themselves on the bed neatly.

"Right, well, thanks," Auden said, grinning.

They stampeded down the stairs and into the kitchen where Harry and Ron were still peeling sprouts.

"Yeah, I know, you said that already and I thought we were done talking about Fred's left buttock," Harry was saying.

"I beg your pardon?" Fred said, entering the kitchen.

Auden smiled and rolled her eyes. "I thought that discussion was over, too," she sighed.

"I'm just trying to get across to Harry how angry dad was. Unbreakable Vows are serious business."

"Why are you talking about Unbreakable Vows?" Fred asked.

Auden shook her head. "Later," she whispered.

Fred looked at her for a moment before nodding and turning his attention back to Harry and Ron. "Ah, George, look at this, they're using knives and everything. Bless them."

"I'll be seventeen in two and a bit months' time," mumbled Ron as Auden climbed up to sit on the counter next to them and wrinkled her nose at the sprouts. She hated them. "And once I'm seventeen I'll be able to do it by magic!" Ron continued.

"But meanwhile," George said, sitting down at the table and putting his feet up, "we can enjoy watching you demonstrate the correct use of a—whoops-a-daisy!"

Ron's hand holding the knife had slipped and he had cut his finger. "You made me do that!" he said, looking at George.

"Ron, don't worry, it's a cut, not a missing limb," Auden said, grabbing his hand and sticking it under the faucet to rinse it off.

"When I'm seventeen…" Ron started angrily.

"I'm sure you'll dazzle us all with hitherto unsuspected magical skills," Fred said with a yawn, leaning up against the counter next to where Auden was sitting.

"And speaking of hitherto unsuspected skills, Ronald," George said, "what is this we hear from Ginny about you and a young lady called—unless our information is faulty—Lavender Brown?"

Ron turned pink and slid his hand out of Auden's grip so he could continue peeling the sprouts. "Mind your own business."

"What a snappy retort," Fred said, snorting. "I really don't know how you think of them. No, what we wanted to know was how did it happen?"

"Fred," Auden whispered warningly.

"No, I want to hear what Ron has to say," Fred grinned.

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked.

"Did she have an accident or something?"

"What?" Ron said again.

"Well, how did she sustain such extensive brain damage? Careful now!"

Ron had attempted to throw the sprout knife at Fred, who turned it into a paper airplane with a flick of his wand. Mrs. Weasley had chosen that moment to walk into the room.

"Ron! Don't you ever let me see you throwing knives again!" she yelled, with that frazzled expression she usually wore during Christmas time.

"I won't," Ron said. "Let you see," he added under his breath.

"Fred, George, I'm sorry dears, but Remus is staying over tonight, so Bill will have to squeeze in with you so Remus can have his room," Mrs. Weasley said, wringing her hands.

"No problem," George said.

"Then, since Charlie and Ben won't be here, that just leaves Harry and Ron to share Ron's room, and if Fleur shares with Ginny and Auden-,"

"That'll make Ginny's Christmas," muttered Fred.

"—everyone should be comfortable," Mrs. Weasley finished. "Well, they'll have a bed anyway."

"Percy definitely not showing his ugly face?" Fred asked, wrinkling his nose.

"No, he's busy at the Ministry, I expect," Mrs. Weasley said as she left the room.

"Or he's the world's biggest prat," Fred mumbled. "One of the two. Well, let's get going then, George, Auden."

"Where are you going?" asked Ron. "Can't you help us with these sprouts? You could just use your wands and then we'll be free too!"

"No, I don't think we can do that," Fred said, taking Auden's hand as she jumped down from the counter. "It's very character building stuff, learning to peel sprouts without magic. It makes you appreciate how difficult it is for Muggles and Squibs."

"And if you want people to help you, Ron," added George, throwing the paper airplane at him, "I wouldn't chuck knives at them. Just a little hint. And by the way, we're off to visit Katie. Not exactly a trip to the park, there, little bro."

Ron looked rather guilty when George told them where they were going, but he didn't say anything. Fred helped Auden into her coat and they set out across the yard. Once they reached the front gate, Auden took Fred's arm and they Apparated to St. Mungo's.

"You know where to go," the witch at the front desk said, without looking up from her pile of paperwork.

"Wait, before we go up," George said, as Fred reached out to push the call button for the lift. George went into the hospital gift shop, which was right next to the lift. Fred and Auden followed him and saw George standing near the flower display.

"Get her these," Auden said, picking out a bouquet of daisies. "Katie loves them."

"You're right, she does," George whispered, a small grin lifting his lips.

George paid for the daisies and they went back to the elevator. Fred pressed the button for the fifth floor and they rode the elevator in silence.

When they reached Katie's room, Auden saw Katie lying on the bed, looking pale. A Healer was in there, doing a check-up.

"How is she today?" George asked walking straight over and putting his hand on Katie's forehead, pushing her hair out of the way. Auden took Fred's hand and smiled softly at George and Katie.

"She's doing better," the Healer said. "Her breathing is getting steadier and believe it or not she's getting some color in her face. I know it doesn't look it, but it's true."

"Oh, good," George said, sitting in the chair by Katie's bed.

"I see you brought flowers. I'll go get you a vase for those," the Healer said. She smiled at Auden and Fred as she left the room.

Auden watched as George took Katie's hand and began whispering to her.

"He likes to talk to her," Fred said. "The Healers think that she can hear when people talk to her."

"What does he talk about?" Auden asked, not once taking her eyes off George and Katie.

"He just tells her how much he loves her and how nice she looks. And if she can hear him, she's probably rolling her eyes about that in her mind, because she thinks she looks awful."

"But George still thinks she looks amazing," Auden said, smiling.

"Exactly," Fred whispered.

George looked up at them as if finally noticing they were still standing by the door. "You can come sit over here too, you know," he said.

Auden took the chair on the other side of Katie's bed and Fred crouched beside her.

"You should say something to her, Aud," George said.

"Um, okay," Auden said. "Uh, hi Katie, it's Auden. I hope you're feeling a lot better and I hope you can hear me too because then this lovely speech is going to go to waste, which would be a shame. Anyway, I know George is telling you that you look great and you're probably thinking that's not possible because you're in a hospital, but I'd like you to know that it's true. You look smashing. Very lovely. This hospital gown does wonders for you. It brings out your eyes wonderfully even though they aren't open. So spare George a punch in the arm when you wake up."

"Thanks, Aud," George said with a smile as Fred let out a loud laugh.

"No problem, Georgie," Auden said. "So, Katie, you need to wake up soon, because I miss you."

The Healer came back into the room with a water filled vase. She took the daisies from George and slipped them inside the vase before setting it on Katie's nightstand. "I'll leave you all to your visit. Let me know if you need anything," she said.

"Thank you," George said, glancing at her before turning back to Katie. They sat in silence for a few minutes, George holding Katie's hand with one of his and using his other hand to gently rub her forehead.

"Mmph," mumbled Katie, turning her head slightly towards George, who gasped quietly and froze. Katie didn't make another sound, so he resumed rubbing her forehead.

"George?" Katie mumbled a minute later. George looked up at Auden and Fred, his expression full of surprise and excitement.

"Katie?" he asked, "can you hear me?"

Auden reached for Fred's hand and gave it a squeeze as Katie's eyelids fluttered. It looked as if she were waking up.

* * *

**A/N: The song in this chapters title is **_**Because You Live**_** by Jesse McCartney.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	24. Chapter 24: Sunshine On A Cloudy Day

Auden couldn't help but grin as Katie's eyes opened all the way. She blinked a few times before smiling at George, whose expression was a mix of shock and joy.

"Hi, George," Katie said weakly.

"Katie, you're awake," George whispered happily.

"Yeah, um, can you tell me what happened? The last thing I remember clearly was being in the Three Broomsticks and going to the bathroom. Oh, and also, I had the strangest dream that Auden told me to not punch you in the arm. There was something about the hospital gown bringing out my eyes, too, even though I was sleeping and my eyes weren't open."

Auden giggled and Katie looked over at her. "Oh, you are here! So, it wasn't a dream! Hi Auden, hi Fred."

"Hi, Katie, how do you feel?" Fred asked.

"Okay," she said quietly.

"We'll leave you and George alone for a little while," Auden said, standing up. "He'll explain everything to you."

Auden grabbed Fred's hand and led him from the room. "Let's go get something from the cafeteria," she suggested.

They walked to the cafeteria hand in hand. "Why is it that for the past two Christmases somebody we know has been in St. Mungo's?" Auden asked thoughtfully, as Fred paid for two drinks, and two pieces of pizza.

"Bad luck, I guess," Fred said. They sat down across from each other at a table.

"I'll say," Auden sighed.

Fred reached across the table and took Auden's hand in his. He rubbed his thumb back and forth across the back of it. Auden grinned at him. "How're things at the shop?"

"Things are great," Fred answered, letting go of her hand so he could pick up his pizza. "How was that Christmas party?"

"Boring," Auden answered, leaning across the table to remove a piece of cheese that had attached itself to Fred's chin.

"How boring? Enlighten me," Fred said.

"Well..." Auden picked up her piece of pizza. "Slughorn doesn't really have an interest in me. I'm not famous or related to anyone famous, you know? He kept trying to start conversations with Harry and he would ignore everyone else. The most interesting part of the night was when Harry and I ditched the party to tail Malfoy and Snape."

"Why were you tailing them?" Fred asked.

"It was Harry's idea. He wanted to hear their conversation, but anyway, we overheard Malfoy telling Snape that he had a job to do. Snape offered him help, but Malfoy wouldn't take it."

"Odd," Fred said. "Very odd."

"Oh yeah, and Snape made the Unbreakable Vow with Malfoy's mother promising he would protect Malfoy. That's what Ron and Harry were talking about earlier."

"Really?" Fred asked, looking up. "Wow, he must be serious about helping him then."

"Yeah, if he made the vow and all," Auden nodded.

"So," Fred said, changing the subject. "What'd you get me for Christmas?" he asked in a teasing voice.

"I can't tell you that," Auden smirked. "I got you one present for our anniversary and Christmas combined, though."

"Same," Fred nodded. "I hope you like it."

"Fred, you could give me a dust bunny and I would love it because it came from you," Auden shrugged.

"How did you guess your gift?" Fred gasped. "Did you snoop through my room?"

Auden rolled her eyes. "Yes, I found the little box containing one heck of a dust bunny."

"It came from under my bed," Fred said, leaning back in his chair and stretching.

Auden giggled and threw her napkin at him.

"We should go see if George is ready to leave yet," Fred said glancing at his watch. "Mum will be expecting us back soon."

They walked back to Katie's room and told George it was time to leave. Auden could tell that he didn't really want to leave now that Katie had woken up, but he stood up from his chair without a word. "We'll come back soon," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

Katie smiled and waved as they left her hospital room.

"I can't believe she's actually awake," George said, practically skipping down the hallway.

Auden laughed at George's excitement and glanced at Fred who was grinning. "She'll be awake for Christmas, too," Auden added, "even if she won't be able to go home."

They Apparated back to the Burrow, where Mrs. Weasley was setting the table. "Tomorrow night we'll really have to crowd in here. We'll just about fit. Oh, and Sirius is coming tomorrow and staying the night as well. I just found out. He can share your room with Remus," she said, looking at Fred and George.

"Yeah, that's fine," Fred said, taking a tomato out of the bowl of salad lying on the counter.

"Fred, don't touch the food," Mrs. Weasley said, swatting his hand. "How's Katie?"

"She woke up," George said gleefully.

"She did?" Mrs. Weasley asked, smiling.

George nodded as Mrs. Weasley grinned wider.

"Good, good," she said, patting George's cheek before returning to the counter to finish cooking dinner.

Bill and Fleur had arrived while Auden had been at the hospital, and they came downstairs for dinner looking happier than ever.

"Auden, 'ow are you?" Fleur asked, smiling a shy smile.

"I'm great, how are you?" Auden answered, grinning.

"Wonderful," Fleur answered. "Wedding plans are coming along beautifully."

"I'm glad to hear that," Auden said.

"Dinner's ready, come on sit down everyone," Mrs. Weasley said. Mr. Weasley and Auden's parents were already seated at the table along with Harry and Ron.

Auden sat down next to Fred with Ginny on her other side.

"Geeny, weel you pass zee potatoes, please?" Fleur asked. Ginny ignored her.

Auden, sensing the awkward moment, picked up the potatoes and passed them to Fleur. "Thank you, Auden," Fleur sniffed.

"Why didn't you pass them to her?" Auden hissed to Ginny.

"Because Phlegm and I don't get along," Ginny said.

"She's trying," Auden shrugged. "Maybe you could too."

"Oh, don't tell me she's your new best friend," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"She's not," Auden defended herself. "I know why she gets on your nerves. She gets on mine sometimes too, but she's trying. You have to give her credit."

Ginny didn't answer right away. "Maybe," she finally said.

* * *

The next day was Christmas Eve and Mrs. Weasley was in full blown frenzy mode. Auden's mother had been over since the early morning hours, helping to prepare the food. Ginny and Auden had gotten up early to decorate the living room with paper chains.

"Did the paper factory explode in here?" Fred asked, as he and George entered the room as the girls were making the chains.

"We aren't done yet," Ginny said. "And this is a girl's day, so leave."

"Christmas is a time for family," George said, flopping onto the couch.

"We also happen to live here, sissy poo," Fred said, sitting on the floor next to Auden. "Well, sometimes we live here."

"Don't ever call me sissy poo again or I'll hex your hair off," Ginny scowled.

"Ooh, I'd do what she says, Freddie," Auden said, continuing making a paper chain. "Because I just don't think I could date someone with a head like a hard-boiled egg."

Fred nudged her with his elbow. "Doesn't personality count for anything?"

"Of course it does," Auden said, kissing his cheek.

"Deep down, though, you know I would look fantastic bald and I'd still be better looking than George," Fred smirked.

"Doubt it," George said from the couch, where he had started his own paper chain.

"Here, Fred, make yourself useful," Ginny said, handing him some paper.

When they were done with the paper chains, they hung them all around the room. Mr. Weasley had already gotten the tree and Mrs. Weasley had decorated it. The only thing missing was an angel.

"Fred, George, I want you to help Harry and Ron collect some carrots from the garden for dinner tonight," Mrs. Weasley yelled from the kitchen. "And Ginny, I need you to come in here and help me cook."

Fred and George both groaned.

"I'll help you with the carrots," Auden said, standing up. They met Harry and Ron out in the garden.

"Here are some gloves," Ron said, tossing them each a pair. Auden pulled her gloves on. They were a very old pair of Mr. Weasley's and they were dirty and too big for Auden's hands.

They began pulling up carrots and putting them in a basket. Halfway through, a garden gnome popped out from his hole and looked at them.

"We just de-gnomed the garden yesterday!" Ron said in disbelief.

"I'll take care of it," Fred said, reaching for the gnome. The gnome was too quick for him, though. It darted out of the ground and ran away, but not before biting Fred's ankle. Fred cursed loudly as he began hopping on one foot. Then, he fell over onto the ground.

"Let me see it," Auden said, kneeling down and moving his hand away. The bite was bleeding a little, but nothing serious.

"Does it make me look even manlier than I already am?" Fred asked. "You know, blood trickling from my ankle as I lie on the ground."

"Oh, yes," Auden said, playing along. "And when people ask, you can tell them the great, action packed tale of how you received this battle wound when a garden gnome bit you while you were pulling up carrots."

"I think you've got every other injured person beat, Fred," George said, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

"Definitely," Harry said.

"Good," Fred said, nodding his head in a satisfied way. He looked at Auden. "You know, I won't be able to stand on this terribly injured ankle of mine until you kiss it better."

"I'm not kissing your ankle," Auden said.

"Well then, right here will do," Fred answered, pointing to his mouth. "Do you agree?"

"I agree," Auden said, leaning forward. She had definitely missed being able to kiss Fred whenever she felt like it. It was probably one thing she had taken for granted before he left and moved to his flat. Now that she didn't see him as often, she loved being around him even more.

They heard a squeaky chuckle from a few feet away and Auden and Fred broke apart. The gnome was standing a few feet away, laughing maniacally.

Fred jumped up and ran towards the gnome, jumping on top of it and pinning it to the ground. "Gotcha!" he yelled as he stood up, gripping the gnome tightly in his hand. He swung his hand back like he was going to throw it, but George stopped him.

"I think we've found the angel for our tree," he smirked.

"I think you're right, George," Fred answered, returning the smirk.

Fred Stupefied the gnome and held it up. "Perfect," he said.

"No, it's not. You can't put it on the tree like that," Auden said. "It has to at least look pretty. Plus, your mother wouldn't like having a gnome on the top of the tree so we have to make it unrecognizable."

"You always think of everything," Fred said, grinning and leaning down to kiss Auden again.

Once they were done pulling up the carrots, Auden went back to her house. She searched through a box in her attic and found an old tutu and wings that had gone on her fairy doll from when she was little. She decided they would be perfect in making the gnome look like a halfway decent angel.

She brought the items back to the Burrow and went up to Fred and George's room. "What are those?" Fred asked.

"They're for the gnome," Auden answered, crossing the room to the dresser where the gnome was lying. She forced the skirt on him and taped the wings to his back. "It still needs something," she said.

"What about this?" Fred asked. He pointed his wand at the gnome and turned it gold.

"Perfect," Auden whispered. "Let's go put it on the tree."

Fred allowed Auden to climb on his back to that she could do the honors of putting the angel up. With a grin, she stuck the gnome angel on the tree. "There," she said proudly.

"Wow, you found an angel," Mrs. Parker said, coming into the room as Fred was letting Auden off his back. "Where did you find it?"

"Er, the attic," Fred said. "There's a lot of old stuff up there that we forgot about. We don't usually go up there much because of the ghoul."

"Oh," Auden's mother said, nodding her head. Then, she left the room to go back to the kitchen.

Remus, Tonks, and Sirius arrived not too long after. Fred, George, and Auden were admiring their angel handiwork when Sirius joined them in the living room. "Nice tree," he commented.

"Thanks, mum and dad did it," George said. "We only dealt with the angel."

"Is that a garden gnome?" Sirius asked.

"How did you know?" Auden asked, surprised.

"I just know these things," he said. "I'm sure nobody else will notice, though."

Dinner that night was amazing, as usual. The kitchen was crowded, but nobody seemed to mind. After dinner, everyone moved into the living room. The lights on the tree were glowing as well as the fire in the fireplace.

Mrs. Weasley turned on the radio and put on a Christmas broadcast by her favorite singer, Celestina Warbeck, who nobody liked except for her.

"Who eez this seenger?" Fleur asked in disgust from where she sat in the corner of the room with Bill.

"Celsetina Warbeck," Mrs. Weasley said, not looking up from her knitting. "We always listen to her on Christmas Eve. It's a tradition."

Fleur didn't say anything more about it, but she resorted instead to talking loudly to Bill as to drown out Celestina's voice. That only caused Mrs. Weasley to flick her wand at the radio and turn the music up louder.

"How about a game of Exploding Snap?" Fred whispered in Auden's ear as he led her to a table in another corner of the room. "It'll drown out this rubbish mum calls music."

Auden agreed to play as well as George and Ginny. Auden couldn't help but hear Harry's conversation with Sirius, Tonks, Lupin and Mr. Weasley, since they were sitting right behind her. Harry was mentioning Malfoy's talk with Snape.

"Auden," Fred whispered, brushing his finger along her cheek. "Forget about all that for right now."

Auden nodded and focused her attention back to the game. They played game after game, many of which were won by Auden and Fred.

During a quiet moment between games, Celestina began belting out another tune, causing Mrs. Weasley to squeal. "Arthur, we danced to this at our wedding! Remember?"

Mr. Weasley looked up. "What? Oh, yes, dear."

The song finally ended, and applause came out of the radio as the live audience applauded. Mrs. Weasley joined right in with them.

"Oh, eez eet over?" asked Fleur. "Thank goodness, what 'orrible-,"

"Who wants eggnog?" Mr. Weasley asked, jumping up and rushing to the kitchen. Auden rolled her eyes. She wished she could stop going back and forth between liking Fleur and being annoyed with her. She could understand why Fleur didn't like Celestina, but she didn't have to be so rude about it.

After eggnog, Mrs. Weasley announced that it was time for everyone to go to bed. Auden's parents left to go next door while everyone else headed for the stairs. Fred grabbed Auden's arm before she could leave the living room. "Meet me back down here in ten minutes?"

"Sure, why?" Auden asked curiously.

"I want to give you your gift," Fred said, smiling his wide grin.

"Why do you need ten minutes? Did you forget to wrap it?" Auden whispered, stepping closer.

Fred smiled at the reference to the night they started dating. "No, it's wrapped, I just want to change out of these…er, comfortable jeans. Sorry, I'm not wearing a suit tonight. I kind of killed the whole history repeating itself thing."

Auden smiled and leaned up to kiss him. "Ten minutes," she said, before turning to go upstairs. She put her pajamas on, which consisted of Fred's sweatshirt that he had given her over her pajama top. Then, she grabbed Fred's gift and left the room. She had managed to find a box that fit the broom so that she could wrap it without the package being obvious.

When she got down to the living room, Fred was already there, wearing his pajamas as well and sitting on the couch. "Nice sweatshirt," he commented.

"Thank you," Auden said, doing a little twirl in front of him. The sweatshirt was Fred's Quidditch sweatshirt that Angelina had decided to have made for the team when she was captain. Auden had her own sweatshirt, but wearing Fred's was so much better. She usually wore her own sweatshirt out in public and slept in Fred's sweatshirt.

The sweatshirt was grey with the Hogwarts crest on the front. On the back, it said 'Weasley' across the top and underneath, a large number five, Fred's number. Auden's sweatshirt was the same, only it said 'Parker' with the number three.

"It looks good on you," Fred said as Auden joined him on the couch.

"It still smells like you," she said, bring her knees to her chest and resting her head on his shoulder.

Fred laughed before turning to a large box lying next to him on the couch. "Here's your gift. How about this year we open them at the same time?"

"Okay," Auden agreed as they handed each other their gifts. Auden noticed vaguely that they were about the same sized boxes.

"Ready, set, open!" Fred said.

Auden tore open the box and stared down into it. Fred was silent and she knew he was just as surprised as she was. They had gotten each other the same gift.

Fred started to laugh and Auden couldn't help but laugh along with him. "I can't believe we both got each other a Firebolt," Fred gasped between laughs. Auden buried her face in his chest to stifle her laughter. "Thank you so much," she said when her laughter died.

"You're welcome. And thank you," Fred responded, kissing her temple.

"You're very welcome," Auden said quietly. "Happy anniversary, Fred," she whispered.

"Happy Anniversary, Aud," he whispered back. He began kissing her on the lips this time and Auden completely lost track of time. She could have sat there forever.

"Oh, and happy Christmas," Fred whispered against her neck. Auden glanced at the clock. It was five past midnight on Christmas morning.

"Happy Christmas," she whispered back. She curled up against him and snuggled into his shoulder, eventually, falling asleep there. She vaguely remembered Fred enchanting their brooms to fly up to their rooms before carrying her up the stairs to Ginny's room. He gently placed her on the bed and tucked her in before kissing her forehead so lightly, it was almost like he hadn't even kissed her at all. Even still, Auden was pretty sure she grinned like an idiot.


	25. Chapter 25: Look Around

Auden woke up early on Christmas morning. Fleur and Ginny were both still sound asleep. Auden noticed the large piles of gifts at the ends of her and Ginny's beds. Fleur, however, had a smaller pile. Auden instantly felt bad. She probably should have thought to give Fleur something for Christmas. She should have remembered that she didn't have many friends here. It didn't help when Auden noticed a gift on the top of her pile with a tag reading, 'From Fleur,' in flowing penmanship.

Auden suddenly had an idea. She tiptoed out of the house and into her house next door. She searched through her jewelry box until she found what she was looking for. A pair of earrings from her aunt and uncle. They had given them to Auden a few years ago, but they weren't really her. They would definitely look good on Fleur, though.

Auden decided as she wrapped the earrings that next year she would definitely have to buy Fleur an actual gift. She felt terrible re-gifting something of her own, even if the earrings would have a better home with Fleur. When she was done wrapping the gift, Auden snuck back to Ginny's room and slipped the earrings onto Fleur's pile. Then, she climbed onto her bed and threw a pair of rolled up socks at Ginny's head.

"Where's the fire?" Ginny yelled, sitting up straight.

Auden laughed. "There is no fire. It is Christmas, though."

Ginny smiled when she saw the presents, but Auden noticed her smile falter when she saw Fleur's slightly smaller pile. "Did you get her anything?" she whispered to Auden.

"Er, I forgot, but before I woke you up I snuck back to my house and wrapped a pair of earrings I never wore. It sounds dumb, I know, but I just felt bad and she got me a gift. It was the best I could do at the last minute."

"She got you something?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah, she probably got you something, too," Auden answered.

"Oh, she did," Ginny groaned, leaning forward to look at her gifts. "What do I do?"

"I don't know. You could do what I did."

"Yeah, but do you think Fleur would like," Ginny jumped off her bed and began digging through her closet, "an old hair elastic, a sock, a book on Quidditch teams..."

"Give her this," Auden said, picking up a bottle of perfume from Ginny's dresser that she had just bought not too long ago and hadn't yet opened.

"But it's my favorite kind and I ran out so that's the new bottle."

"Give her the sock, then," Auden shrugged. "Or don't give her anything. But remember the time you wore it and she said she liked the perfume you were wearing?"

Ginny sighed and took the perfume out of Auden's hand. "Fine, but you owe me another bottle of this."

Auden smirked as Ginny hastily wrapped the perfume in tissue paper, stuck it in a red holiday gift bag and put it in Fleur's pile. The truth was that Auden had bought Ginny the perfume knowing that she needed more. Then, Ginny had come back with the new bottle that she had bought herself. This way, it worked out perfectly.

"Should we wake her up?" Ginny asked, pointing at Fleur, who was still sleeping soundly.

Auden shrugged. "It's up to you."

Ginny debated for a little while before poking Fleur in the shoulder. "Oi, Fleur, wake up."

Fleur rolled over and opened her eyes. "Oh, good morneeng Geeny, eez eet time to wake up already?"

"Yeah, you have presents," Ginny said, returning to her own bed.

"Oh, how wonderful," Fleur said. She picked up the gift from Ginny first. Ginny froze in the middle of opening her traditional Weasley sweater to watch Fleur.

"Do you like it?" she asked. Auden saw her trying not to laugh.

"Yes, zis eez zee one you were wearing not too long ago zat I loved!" Fleur said, grinning. "Thank you, Geeny!"

The corners of Ginny's mouth turned up. "You're welcome."

Auden began opening her gifts that consisted of her own handmade Weasley sweater. Her gift from Fleur had ended up being a beautiful bracelet that had a blue floral design painted on it. She had gotten the same for Ginny, put with a purple design.

"Wow, this is really cool, thanks!" Auden said.

"You are very welcome. And thank you for zee earrings," Fleur said. She was already putting them on and Auden smiled. They did look good on her.

Ginny started laughing and when Auden looked over, she saw why. She had just unwrapped the perfume Auden had bought. "It all makes sense now," she said.

After Auden and Ginny had gotten dressed, Ginny went downstairs to the kitchen while Auden went up to Ron's room. When she opened the door, Ron was holding a necklace in his hand that said 'my sweetheart,' and he also had an appalled look on his face. Harry was laughing his head off.

"Oh, Ron, did you forget to send Lavender her present?" Auden asked sympathetically.

"No, she sent this to me!" Ron answered, his ears turning red.

Harry began to laugh even harder and Auden couldn't help but laugh too. "She did not," she managed to choke out.

"She did!" Harry gasped. "I told him to definitely wear it in front of Fred and George."

"Oh, yes, they'll never let him live that one down," Auden said. There was a pause. "Did you two ever talk about your interests?"

"No, it's mostly just-,"

"Snogging," Harry finished with a smirk.

"Yeah," Ron sighed, throwing the necklace down on his dresser.

"She can't seriously think you'd wear this, though," Auden said, picking the necklace up and wrinkling her nose. "I mean, even if you two never really talk...what was she _thinking_?"

"I may never know," Ron said, shrugging, "and I don't think I want to, if I'm being honest."

"Hey, mum says breakfast is ready," Fred said, coming into the room. "Who did you get that from?" he asked Auden in shock. She realized that she was still holding the necklace.

"Nobody, it's Ron's," she said, tossing the necklace back at Ron as if it were on fire.

"Lav Lav sent it to him," Harry said before being taken over by another fit of laugher.

"Oh, good," Fred said, his face relaxing before changing into a smirk. "Come on, Ron, put it on, let's see how it looks."

"No, I don't think I will, thanks," Ron answered.

"Come on," George said, grabbing the necklace and attempting to put it around Ron's neck. Ron tried to fight him off, which made the whole thing even more hilarious.

George eventually gave up trying to get the necklace on Ron, but when he and Harry started towards the door, Auden saw George slip the necklace into Ron's school bag. "Can't let him forget to bring it back to school with him," he grinned.

Mrs. Weasley had breakfast out on the table by the time Auden got down there with Fred and George. She, Sirius, and Auden's mother were the only ones sitting there, all drinking coffee.

"Where is everyone?" Fred yawned, sitting down across from Sirius.

"Bill and Fleur went for a walk," Mrs. Weasley said. "Your father's out with Auden's dad and Lupin, showing them some Muggle contraption he's been working on. I think it has to do with those plug things. Honestly, it drives me mad. Anyway, Tonks already went home to her family and who knows where Harry, Ron and Ginny got off to."

"We're right here," Ron said, coming in the back door, Harry and Ginny right behind him. He turned to Auden, Fred, and George. "Do you want to come play Quidditch with us? If you play, we'll be able to have even teams."

"Sure," Fred said. He nudged Auden. "We can test out our new brooms."

"New brooms?" Ron asked, grabbing a piece of toast from the table.

"We gave them to each other. The same exact type of broom, actually," Auden grinned. "I told you that I bought Fred a Firebolt, didn't I? Well, he got me one, too."

"Firebolts, nice," Sirius grinned.

"I wish I had a Firebolt," Ron muttered.

"Now, Ron, you just got a new broom over the summer as a reward for becoming a prefect," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I know," Ron said, holding up his own broom. "It's a good broom, but a Firebolt, wow."

"Well, come on, let's go," Harry said impatiently. "Sirius, want to come watch?"

"Don't mind if I do," Sirius said, beaming.

"Make sure you dress warmly," Mrs. Weasley said.

There was a small dusting of snow on the ground as they walked out to the field near the Burrow where they usually played Quidditch. Everyone was dressed in warm coats, hats, and gloves.

For the first game, Auden was on Fred and George's team and they finally won after playing a very close game. Auden high fived Fred as they zoomed past each other on their brooms.

During the second game, they switched teams and Auden was with Harry and Ron and her team won again, but when they played a third game, Auden was with Ginny and George and they lost. "Fred's going to tease us about losing for at least an hour or two," George groaned to Auden as they landed.

"If he does, then I'll tease him about all those times I beat him in Exploding Snap."

"You're the only one who's ever beaten him more than once," George said.

"Whispering about me, I hope?" Fred said, throwing his arm over her shoulders. "Maybe you were discussing my impressive Quidditch skills."

"Or maybe we were discussing how I can beat you in Exploding Snap," Auden smirked.

"Oh yeah? How about an Exploding Snap tournament?" Fred asked playfully. "I'm serious," he added when Auden laughed.

"Fine," she answered. "I'm going to win, though."

"You're on, Parker," Fred said playfully with a small smirk. "You, me, tonight, usual table in the corner of the living room."

"Ooh," George said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"No comments from the Peanut Gallery," Fred said. "Anyway, my dear girlfriend, prepare to lose." He patted her head sympathetically.

Auden laughed. "You don't scare me, Fred Weasley." She laughed again before turning to catch up with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Sirius.

Fred looked at George before sighing and running his fingers through his hair. "But she sure as hell scares me."

"Scared she's going to beat you?" George smirked.

Fred nodded. "That girl is one of the best Exploding Snap players I know."

"And who taught her how to play Exploding Snap?" George asked, grinning.

"Me," Fred mumbled.

"Ah, so it's your own fault, Freddie."

"I know, I know," Fred sighed. "I created a monster." He glanced after Auden. "A beautiful monster, though."

"Oh, gross," George teased.

"What, you don't think Auden's beautiful?"

"Of course she is, but-,"

"Oh, so now you're hitting on my girlfriend?"

George groaned. "I have my own girlfriend, thank you very much."

"Good, go call her beautiful," Fred smirked.

"I would, but she's not here."

"Write her a letter."

"I think I will."

"Will you two stop bantering like an old married couple and get inside?" Auden yelled, holding the back door open for them.

"Yeah, she's a real monster all right," George said, looking at Fred.

"What did I tell you?" Fred smirked as they reached the door and headed inside.

* * *

Just before dinner, everyone was shuffling around the kitchen trying to find seats when Mrs. Weasley stopped in her tracks. "Where's Sirius?"

"He went out to the yard about half an hour ago," Lupin said, beginning to get up from his seat. "I'll go find him."

"No, I'll do it," Auden volunteered. "I'm standing up, and closer to the door."

"Hurry back, dear," Mrs. Parker said.

Auden disappeared through the back door and walked across the yard. She found Sirius sitting under one of the huge oak trees that scattered the yard.

"What are you doing?" Auden asked.

"Writing a letter," Sirius answered, not looking up from the paper he was scribbling on furiously.

"Ooh, to who?" Auden asked.

Sirius tilted the paper away with a small smile. "No one."

"Oh, that's an interesting name, 'no one,'" Auden said, kneeling down and trying to peer around the paper. Sirius tilted it away again. "Please, tell me," Auden begged.

"Fine," Sirius gave in. "I'm writing a letter to Hope."

"Hope for what?" Auden asked.

"No, Hope is her name," Sirius said.

"Who is she? Where did you meet her? Do you like her? How much?" Auden asked, bouncing around.

"I met her when I was in school. She was one of Lily's best friends."

"Harry's mum?" Auden asked, as Sirius nodded. Auden repositioned herself on the ground, making herself comfortable. "Okay, go on."

"Isn't dinner ready? That's why you came out here, right?" Sirius asked.

Auden waved her hand. "Just tell me the story," she said. "Please?"

"Okay," Sirius sighed. He signed the letter and folded it before looking up at Auden. "She was Lily's best friend at school. I met her when I was eleven, liked her from when I was fifteen until I lost touch with her two years after I left school. I was sent to Azkaban two years after we lost touch."

"But you're in touch with her now," Auden said.

"Yeah, when I was out with Remus the other day, we ran into her. Now that Voldemort's back and everyone knows that Wormtail joined him, they know I'm innocent. So, Hope knows basically the whole story. She said she never believed I would kill anyone anyway."

"What does she look like?" Auden asked.

Sirius got a dreamy expression on his face as he leaned his head back on the tree. "When I saw her the other day she looked exactly how she did when I went to school with her. Except her hair was shorter."

"Sirius, I don't know what she looked like when you went to school with her," Auden laughed.

"Okay, well her hair is strawberry blonde and it used to be long. And very flowy. Now, it's short, only down to about her shoulders, and she has these incredible brown eyes that give away whatever she's feeling at the moment. And her smile is one of the biggest smiles I've ever seen."

"Are you going to see her again? You know, like a date?" Auden asked.

"I don't know, maybe," Sirius shrugged. "I don't know if we have much time for dates with things being the way they are."

"Things are going to get worse before they get better, so unless you want things to get messed up or you want to wait forever, then I think you should ask her now," Auden shrugged.

"Maybe you're right," Sirius sighed. He unfolded the letter and began writing a P.S. "I…was….wondering…," he began, speaking each word as he wrote it. Then, he paused and glanced at Auden.

"Keep going," she said.

Sirius looked back down at his paper. "If…you…wanted…to…get a drink…at the…Leaky…Cauldron…on…?" He hesitated.

"New Years Eve," Auden said with a smile.

"New…Years…Eve," Sirius finished. He folded the letter back up again. Auden was grinning widely at him.

"You just get a kick out of playing matchmaker don't you?" he asked.

Auden shrugged and stood up. "It is pretty fun."

"Auden, where did you get off to?" Mrs. Weasley yelled from the back door.

"Coming!" Auden yelled back. "Have you told Harry about Hope?" she asked Sirius as they walked back to the house.

"No, but I'll tell him tonight."

"Mrs. Weasley's going to ask where you were and why it took so long to get back inside. Looks like the cat's out of the bag," Auden said. "You might as well tell everyone now. They'll find out eventually."

"I guess so," Sirius said as he opened the kitchen door.

"Finally," Ron said as they walked in. "We can eat now."

"Sorry," Sirius said, sitting down next to Lupin.

"Where were you anyway?" Fred asked, putting his hand on Auden's knee as she sat next to him.

"Sirius will tell you," Auden said with a smile as she put her hand on top of Fred's.

"I was writing a letter," Sirius said. Lupin instantly smiled as if he knew what was going on.

"Who were you writing to?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"A girl I went to school with. We lost touch and I saw her the other day."

"Are you going to ask her out on a date?" Ginny asked at once from Auden's left.

Sirius smiled. "Already done." He leaned back in his chair with a proud grin. Now that the task of actually asking Hope out was done, he seemed pretty relaxed about it.

"Yeah, thanks to me," Auden laughed.

"That's great!" Harry exclaimed. His expression was genuinely excited. Auden knew that he wanted to see his godfather happy.

"When are you going?" Fred asked.

"New Years Eve," Sirius answered. "We're going to the Leaky Cauldron."

"Will we get to meet her?" Bill asked. Auden noticed him holding Fleur's hand under the table.

"Yeah, I don't see why not," Sirius shrugged. "You guys will like her. I know it." He grinned around the table.

They began to eat the food that Auden's mother and Mrs. Weasley had spent all day cooking.

"Harry, you have a maggot in your hair," Ginny said, reaching over to Harry, who was on her other side, to pick it out.

"Zat eez deesgusteeng, 'Arry," Fleur said. "'Ow did you ever get a maggot een your 'air?"

"Kreacher," Harry mumbled. Sirius had told Harry that if he ever needed a place to stay, he could stay with him and that his house was considered half Harry's now. That also meant that Kreacher had to obey Harry in addition to Sirius now. Dumbledore, however, wouldn't allow Harry to live with Sirius just yet. He didn't give a specific reason, only saying it was for Harry's protection.

"Yes, it is quite horrible," Ron said staring at Fleur. "Would you like more water?" In his hurry to fill her glass, Ron knocked the pitcher of water over. Mrs. Weasley glared at him.

"Don't worry, Molly," Auden's mother said, waving her wand to clean the mess up. "There, it's all cleaned up. Nothing to worry about."

"You are as bad as zat Tonks," Fleur said, checking her clothes to make sure nothing had spilled on her.

Auden shared an eye roll with Ginny. _Here she goes again,_ she thought.

"I wish Tonks could have spent Christmas day here with us," Mrs. Weasley said.

"I'm sure Remus wishes the same thing," Sirius said, smirking.

Lupin began choking on his turkey. "Tonks has her own family to spend Christmas with," he said.

"Tonks' Patronus has changed," Harry chimed in. "I didn't really see it clearly but it was kind of big and had four legs. Auden said it could've been because she's fallen in love."

"Aha, Remus, see that?" Sirius practically shouted. He clapped Lupin on the back so hard, his face almost went into his plate.

Lupin just shook his head and refused to say anything more. He didn't have to. The subject was soon forgotten as Mrs. Weasley looked out the window and gasped.

"What is it, Molly?" Auden's dad asked, looking alarmed at her sudden outburst.

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley said in a squeaky voice, ignoring Auden's dad. "Arthur, it's—it's Percy!"

"_What?_" chorused every person sitting at the table.

Ginny stood on her chair to get a better look. "It really is him!" she said.

"He has the Minister with him!" Mrs. Weasley said.

"Ginny, sit down," Mr. Weasley ordered. Ginny climbed down from her chair.

Auden looked at Fred as she felt him squeeze her hand tightly. He looked upset and angry. "Shh, calm down," she whispered.

"He's a git, Auden, you know that," Fred whispered against her ear. "He _left_ us!"

"I know, but please, just calm down," she whispered back.

Fred didn't get a chance to say anything else because at that moment, the back door opened and Percy Weasley was standing in the doorway.


	26. Chapter 26: Firework

**A/N: Sorry it took me a few days to update. This chapter took forever to write, but I finally finished it and here it is :) The song in the title is **_**Firework**_** by Katy Perry. **

**Reviews would be awesome.**

* * *

"Percy?" Mrs. Weasley asked quietly, her eyes wide.

"Yes, hello, mother," Percy said in a rather bored tone. "Merry Christmas."

It seemed like Mrs. Weasley was too shocked to see that Percy didn't really want to be there. She ran forward and hugged him. Percy awkwardly patted her on the back.

"I'm sorry to be intruding like this," the Minister said. Fudge had resigned from the job and this new Minister's name was Rufus Scrimgeour. "Percy and I were in the area for work and he couldn't resist dropping in and seeing all of you."

"Yeah, right," Auden whispered to Fred and a small smile flickered over his face before he immediately went back to looking at Percy with an expression of strong dislike. George and Mr. Weasley were looking at him the same way.

"Come in, Minister, have a seat. Would you like some turkey?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"No, no, I don't want to intrude. I wouldn't be here at all if Percy hadn't wanted to see everyone so badly."

"Oh, Percy!" Mrs. Weasley squealed, hugging him again.

Auden rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. Fred squeezed her hand tighter. He seemed to be trying to contain himself from throwing his plate of food at Percy's face.

"Well, I'll let you all catch up," Scrimgeour said. "Maybe someone can show me around the lovely garden I noticed outside. What about you, over there? You're finished eating, aren't you?"

Every pair of eyes in the room had moved to Harry. Auden wanted to roll her eyes again. The Minister was certainly being obvious, despite his attempt not to be. George, Bill, and Fleur all had empty plates as well.

"Yeah, alright," Harry said, standing up. "It's fine," he added as Lupin began to stand up.

"We'll be back in just a few minutes and then Percy and I will be off," Scrimgeour said as he followed Harry out the door.

"Oh, Percy, you really wanted to see us?" Mrs. Weasley asked once Harry and the Minister had left.

"Um, well," Percy began.

"Seriously, Mum, you must know he didn't come here to see us," Fred said, glaring at Percy.

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed, horrified.

"It's true, he didn't! He hasn't been around in a year and a half, why do you think he'd come back now?" George said, also glaring at Percy.

"Unless he's here to apologize," Ginny added. She sounded torn between wanting to forgive Percy and hating him.

Percy looked sick. He tried to speak, but he only ended up stuttering himself into silence.

"Just what I thought," Fred said, tossing his napkin onto the table and standing up, still glaring at Percy.

"Fred, sit down," Auden said, tugging on his hand. Fred didn't move for what seemed like the longest time. Finally, he sat back down, but he glanced at George. Auden knew they were communicating silently in their minds. She wished she knew what they were thinking. Stupid twin telepathy.

Fred picked up his spoon and stuck it in his mashed potatoes. George did the same and without a word, but with incredible aim, they flung the potatoes forward, off their spoons and onto Percy's glasses.

Auden's hand flew to her mouth. She gasped before letting out a small giggle. Both of Percy's lenses were covered in mashed potatoes.

Everyone was silent with horror besides Sirius, who was choking on a mouthful of carrots and he had to take a long drink of water before he stopped. Mrs. Weasley's mouth was moving, but no words were coming out. She looked torn between anger and amusement.

Percy silently reached up and wiped the potatoes from his glasses. He shook his hands over the sink to get the potatoes off. Then, he scowled at Fred and George. "Haven't changed much, have you?"

"No," George smirked. "And neither have you, apparently."

There was complete silence in the room. Auden stared at her plate. Suddenly, the few leftover carrots on her plate looked so much more interesting. Everything was just awkward and the air was filled with tension.

The back door opened suddenly and Harry entered the room with Scrimgeour, who looked rather annoyed.

"Well, Molly, I'm sorry to have interrupted dinner like this, but we must be off now. Come on, Percy." He turned and went out the door again, Percy right on his heels.

"Bye, Percy, dear," Mrs. Weasley said. He ignored her.

Once they had left, Mrs. Weasley burst into tears. Auden's mother rushed over to her and began patting her on the back and comforting her.

"What did the Minister want with you, Harry?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"He wanted me to be seen hanging around the Ministry so that they would look better. You know, having me on their side and all."

"What'd you tell him?" Auden's dad asked.

"I told him no. I told him I didn't like that Stan Shunpike is locked up in Azkaban for no reason except they want it to look like they're doing something."

"Good for you, Harry," Sirius grinned.

Fred and George still looked grumpy about seeing Percy, but when Auden reminded Fred about their Exploding Snap tournament, he became more cheerful.

They sat across from each other at the table in the corner of the living room. Ron, George, Ginny, and Harry crowded around to watch.

"What's going on over there?" Auden's dad asked.

"Auden and Fred are having an Exploding Snap tournament," Ginny answered.

"Ah, I don't understand zee point of zat game," Fleur said.

"Well, all you do is-," Auden's mom started explaining.

"No, I mean why do people find eet interesting? Eet eez a rather loud and obnoxious game to me."

"Would you rather me turn on Celestina Warbeck?" Mrs. Weasley asked cheerily.

"Oh, no, their game eez fine," Fleur said at once.

Auden giggled and smiled at Mrs. Weasley, who smiled back.

"Ready to lose?" Fred asked with a smirk.

"No, I'm ready to win," Auden shot back. "Best out of five?"

"Hmm, let's do best out of nine," Fred said, shuffling the cards.

Eight games later, Fred and Auden were tied. "Nervous, Freddie?" Auden asked.

"Not at all," Fred said, biting his lip.

"Yeah, well you should be," Auden smirked. She looked up at Fred. He was concentrating really hard on the cards. Auden noticed how cute he was when he was concentrating.

"What?" Fred asked, looking up and noticing her looking at him.

"Nothing," Auden said with a smile.

"Ah, you were admiring my good looks," Fred said, grinning, holding up his arm like he was showing off his muscles.

Auden rolled her eyes. "Maybe I was thinking about how you really look like a scrawny baboon."

"No, that's what George looks like," Fred answered.

"It's what you both look like, you're identical, now let's get back to the game," Ginny said.

"Well," George said. "I think I'm a better looking baboon than Fred."

"No, no, Georgie. Your little baboon head has gotten quite confused. I am clearly the better looking baboon brother," Fred said.

"Good, now let's focus," Auden said, laughing. "As much fun as this is, I don't want to be here all night."

"Wait, I know how to settle this argument," Fred said, holding up his hands. "Mum, who's the better looking baboon, me or George?"

"If you were baboons, you'd both be ugly," Mrs. Weasley said, not looking up from the large photo album in her lap. She had been looking at old pictures with Auden's mother and trying to relive the memories by looking through them. "Disgusting, hairy creatures," she continued as Mrs. Parker nodded.

"Okay, well who's the better looking human?" Fred asked.

"It's a tie," Auden's mother said, scratching her nose absentmindedly and glancing up at them.

"Happy now?" Ginny asked impatiently. "Now, hurry up and play I want to see who wins. I'm betting on you, Aud."

"Nah, you're wrong little sis," George said. "Fred's got this under control." He patted his twin's back as Fred concentrated on the cards once again.

Five minutes later, Fred threw down his cards in defeat as Auden jumped up from her seat cheering. "This is embarrassing," Fred said. "How about a rematch?"

"Nope, no rematch," Auden said happily as she did a victory dance around the table.

"She won fair and square," Ginny said with a shrug.

Auden squealed with joy as Fred grabbed her and pulled her onto his lap. She laughed as she saw that George had retrieved the 'my sweetheart' necklace and was chasing Ron with it as Ginny laughed. Harry was now sitting next to Sirius and Lupin, lost in conversation.

"Since I embarrassed you so terribly, how about I make up for it?" she asked, turning to Fred.

"How are you planning on doing that?" Fred asked, a knowing smile lifting the corners of his mouth.

Auden rested her hand on his cheek and leaned in to kiss him. "Did that make up for it?" she asked, leaning her forehead against his.

"Most definitely," Fred answered, kissing her again.

"You two couldn't wait until you found some mistletoe, could you?" Bill asked from the other side of the room with a grin.

Sirius looked up at Bill's joke and aimed his wand at the ceiling above Auden and Fred's heads. Mistletoe appeared out of nowhere. "You were saying?" Sirius joked, looking at Bill.

"Carry on," Bill said.

Auden wound her arms around Fred's neck and kissed him again. She heard Fleur talking to Bill from across the room. "Beel, where eez our meestletoe?"

"Oh, look at that," Bill said slyly. Auden assumed he had added some mistletoe above their heads as well, but she didn't especially care to check. She was too preoccupied by her own boyfriend.

* * *

New Years Eve came relatively quickly. Lupin had left the Burrow that morning. He said that he had other plans for the night. Sirius had then disguised the name "Tonks" into a cough, looking innocent when Lupin shot him a look.

Surprisingly, Auden's parents and Fred's parents were both going out in addition to Bill and Fleur, and Sirius, who had his big date with Hope that night.

"Promise we won't come home to the house in ruins?" Mrs. Weasley asked, putting on a new pair of earrings in front of the mirror in her bedroom.

"Promise," Auden said, handing Mrs. Weasley a necklace.

"Arthur and I haven't been out in so long. I don't even know if going out at a time like this is safe…"

"I told Sirius that it's only going to get worse before it gets better, so might as well go out while you can," Auden said.

"Yeah, we'll be fine, mum," Ginny said. She was lying on her stomach on Mrs. Weasley's bed, reading a magazine. Bill and Fleur had left ten minutes ago. They were going out to dinner and then to a party at a friend's house who had worked in Egypt with Bill.

"What do you think Hope's like?" Auden asked, leaning against the dresser.

"I'm sure she's a nice girl," Mrs. Weasley said. "Sometimes I do wonder, though, if Sirius liked her when he was in school…"

"I'm sure she won't barge in here and start hexing people to grow bunny ears or something like that," Auden said.

"I'm sure you're right. Sirus has grown up and no matter what this Hope girl was like, she's also an adult."

Suddenly, footsteps began thundering down the stairs. Sirius stuck his head in the door. "She's here, she's here! She just Apparated out in the yard." He didn't wait for an answer before racing down the stairs.

Auden and Ginny looked at each other, grinning, before they bolted after him. "Wait for me!" Mrs. Weasley called, following them.

Auden and Ginny stopped at the back door. Sirius was walking towards a girl who was obviously Hope, but it was so dark outside that they couldn't see what she looked like yet. Sirius stopped when he reached her and held out his hand. Hope ignored it and hugged him.

"What's he doing?" Fred asked, arriving in the kitchen behind Mrs. Weasley. George, Ron, and Harry weren't too far behind them. "He bolted down the stairs so fast, it's a wonder his head didn't fly off."

They all crowded around the door. Sirius and Hope were laughing about something together.

"Is he going to invite her inside or stand there all night?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"What are we looking at?" Auden's dad asked, walking into the room and straightening his tie.

"Sirius and his date," Auden said.

"She's here?" Auden's mum asked. Everyone nodded. They were all crowded around the door and the kitchen window. Eventually, Mr. Weasley joined them as well.

"They're coming inside! Go, go, go!" Ginny cried. Everyone raced away from the door and scattered around the kitchen, trying to look normal.

"Hi everyone," Sirius said as he walked in the door. "Er, Ron, why are you holding that oven mitt?"

"Oh, no reason," Ron said, putting it down quickly. He had grabbed it off the counter quickly without even thinking.

"Anyway, this is Hope," Sirius said. He smiled and gestured towards the girl standing next to him. She was exactly how he had described her to Auden. Right down to the exact hair length.

"Hello, everyone," she said. She had a naturally soft voice that fit her well. "Sirius told me all about you in his letters. You must be Molly and Arthur." She looked at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and smiled.

"Why, yes, we are," Mrs. Weasley said, grinning.

"And you're Ron," Hope said, pointing at Ron, who nodded. "You're Ginny?" Hope asked, looking at Ginny.

"Yeah," Ginny answered.

"Yeah, Sirius told me about how all the Weasley's had red hair. So that means you two are Fred and George, right? And you're Auden, and these must be your parents."

"Lovely to meet you," Mrs. Parker smiled.

"You're good," Auden said.

"Like I said, Sirius told me all about you," Hope said. Then, she turned to Harry. "He told me quite a lot about you," she grinned warmly.

"I expect he didn't have to tell you much, though," Harry half joked. "You probably knew a lot about me already if you read the paper."

"True," Hope nodded. "But he told me other things too. Like how proud he is to be your godfather."

"Really?" Harry asked as both he and Sirius blushed.

Hope nodded and smiled.

"Well, should we get going, then?" Sirius asked.

"Sure," Hope said. "It was nice meeting you all."

"She seems like a nice girl," Mrs. Weasley said, leaving the room. "I approve."

"Mum, Sirius isn't a kid. You don't have to approve his girlfriends," Ron said.

"No, but if I didn't like her I would be sure to tell him about it."

Ten minutes later, Mrs. Weasley was quadruple checking everything and going over all the rules before she left with Mr. Weasley and Auden's parents.

"I left food on the stove if you get hungry and be careful. You know the security questions to ask if anyone comes to the door. We aren't expecting anyone, so be careful if someone does knock on the door. You'll probably have already gone to sleep by the time we come back but if not your father asked me to remind you to use the security questions on us."

"Yes, just in case," Mr. Weasley said.

"You never know if someone could be impersonating us," Auden's dad added.

"Yes, we know," Fred said. "Now, you guys go, have fun, see you next year."

"Oh, so funny, Fred," Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes, but a smile made her lips turn up at the corners.

Once they had left, Fred flopped on the couch and Auden sat down on the arm closest to his head, reaching down to absentmindedly play with his hair.

"So, what are we going to do?" Harry asked, leaning against the wall near the fireplace.

"Well, we could start by putting on some music," Ginny said. She walked over to the radio and turned the dial until she found a station playing an upbeat song by the Weird Sisters.

"Should we go see what mum left us on the stove?" Ron asked, standing up from the chair he was sitting in.

"Wait, not yet," Ginny said, pushing him back into the chair. "Auden, come with me. Everyone else, stay here."

"What are we doing?" Auden whispered as she followed Ginny to the kitchen.

"You'll see," Ginny answered.

Once in the kitchen, Ginny took out an old tablecloth that Mrs. Weasley used to use on special occasions. She hadn't used it in a while, though.

Auden realized what Ginny was doing and set the table for the six of them. Ginny even found some candles and put them on the table along with the chicken soup Mrs. Weasley had left.

"It's not much, but it's festive enough, I think," Ginny shrugged.

"I agree," Auden answered.

They went back to the living room to see Fred and George whispering together while Harry and Ron stood on the other side of the room.

"Come on, we can eat now," Ginny said. Fred and George immediately stopped whispering.

"I'm afraid to ask," Auden groaned.

"Ask what?" Fred said innocently, throwing his arm around Auden and kissing the top of her head.

"What you and George were up to," Auden said.

"Must you always suspect us of something, Aud?" George asked with a smile. "You're almost as bad as our mum."

Fred pulled out a chair for Auden. "For you," he said cordially.

"Why, thank you," Auden said, batting her eyes dramatically and sitting down as Ginny snorted.

Harry tried to serve Ginny some soup, but accidentally spilled some off the spoon.

"You are as bad as zat Tonks," Auden said, imitating Fleur as George waved his wand over the mess to clean it.

Ginny burst out laughing at Auden's imitation and almost spit her drink out all over Harry.

"Is this some sort of trend where we spill things on people we like?" Fred said, raising his eyebrows at Ginny and Harry. Harry was blushing, but Ginny seemed unfazed. She didn't answer Fred's question, though, instead she had quietly started eating her soup.

"Maybe spilling something on Lavender would get her to, ah, never mind," Ron said, stirring his soup absentmindedly.

"Oh, are you hoping for a matching t-shirt to go with the necklace?" George asked. "That would be just lovely."

Ron's ears grew red and Auden laughed. "Why don't you just break up with her?"

"Because, I just can't," Ron said.

"Of course you can," Fred said. "Just tell her to bugger off."

"That's mean," Auden told him.

"I thought Lavender was annoying."

"She can be, but that doesn't mean she deserves to be treated like dirt. It is possible for Ron to break up with her in a nice way. It doesn't mean she'll take it well, but that's her problem."

"I liked my way better," Fred muttered. Auden swatted him.

Later, after the dishes had been cleared away, washed, and dried, Auden saw Fred and George share a look.

"We're going outside for a bit," Fred said, heading for the door.

"I don't know if you should," Ginny said, putting away the last dish that Auden had handed her.

"Don't worry, Ginny," George said with a wink. "We've got a surprise planned."

Ginny sighed and closed her eyes as Fred and George disappeared out the door. It was shocking how similar Ginny was to Mrs. Weasley sometimes.

"What do you think they've got planned?" Harry asked.

"Hopefully nothing dangerous or stupid that's going to make mum never trust us again," Ginny said.

"I don't think they would do something that bad," Ron said. "They're the oldest here after all. They won't cause anything because they know mum and dad would be angriest with them."

Fred opened the back door just then and stuck his head inside. "We're ready. Come on out here."

Auden was the last one outside and Fred waited for her as she turned to shut the door. He took her hand and they walked to join the others. They were standing in a group near George, who was standing in the middle of the yard.

"Sit, sit," George said, waving his hands around excitedly. Everyone silently did as he said. Ginny looked sort of skeptical, but Ron and Harry looked excited.

"You are extremely lucky tonight," Fred said to Auden as they sat down and he pulled her against him.

"Why's that?" Auden asked.

"You get the best seat out here. Right next to the most handsome guy in the area."

Auden grinned and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Why are we out here?"

"Well, you'll soon find out," Fred said. "Ready, George?"

"Ready, Fred."

The twins simultaneously pointed their wands to an area off in the distance, way out in the darkness of the field that surrounded the Burrow. Instantly, fireworks began shooting into the air.

"We got a new shipment of Filibuster fireworks," Fred whispered into Auden's ear.

"Oh, they're gorgeous," Auden sighed. She looked at Fred. He was watching the fireworks with a happy, contented smile. The fireworks were lighting his face up in green, yellow, red, blue, silver and purple. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Fred asked, looking down at her.

"No reason," Auden said with a grin before snuggling back into him.

The fireworks show was amazing. Auden didn't want it to end. She could've sat watching them forever.

"That was incredible," Ginny said as the fireworks ended. "Hey, is it almost midnight?"

Fred checked his watch. "Three minutes," he said.

"Can you believe it's already a new year?" Auden asked, looking up at Fred.

"No, not at all," he answered, playing with her hair.

"One minute," George said, staring intently at his watch.

When there were ten seconds left, all six of them started counting down in unison. "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one!"

"Happy New Year," Fred whispered, leaning his forehead against Auden's.

"Happy New Year," Auden whispered back. She smiled and leaned in for her first kiss of the new year.


	27. Chapter 27: Other Side of the Door

"What was that?" Ginny yelped, standing up suddenly.

"What was what?" Auden asked, pulling away from Fred. She hadn't heard anything, but the fact that Ginny had made her nervous.

"I heard something in the bushes," Ginny said, spinning slowly on the spot, her wand held out.

"I didn't hear anything," George said from where he was sprawled on the grass.

"No, I heard it too," said Harry, standing up beside Ginny.

The noise came again and this time, everyone heard it. They stood up and backed into a circle, facing the dark yard.

"Maybe we should get inside and lock the doors," Ron suggested.

"Yeah, let's go slowly," George said quietly. "It could be just an animal after all."

They slowly began to inch towards the back door. Before they had even taken two steps, figures were racing towards them from the darkness.

"Death Eaters, run!" Fred yelled. Auden tried to grab his hand, but it was so chaotic that she couldn't find it. She took off running towards the house as Death Eaters came out of nowhere. There weren't many of them, but there were just enough.

Right as Auden reached the back door, a Death Eater appeared in front of her, blocking her way. She turned to run, but he grabbed her arm. Without thinking, she turned and punched him in the face. He staggered away from her, clutching his nose.

Auden reached for the door again, but another Death Eater grabbed her around the waist from behind. She began kicking and screaming, but he was stronger than she was. He put his wand to her neck and she stopped flailing around.

"Put me down," she said angrily.

"I don't think so," he snarled.

He carried her away from the house to a spot near the woods where the other Death Eaters were standing, holding everyone captive. All except Harry, Auden noticed.

"Let her go. Let her go now!" Fred yelled, struggling against the Death Eater holding his arms.

"Shut up!" barked the Death Eater holding Auden, digging the point of his wand into her neck. "Or she'll get it."

Fred kept quiet, but continued to glare at the Death Eaters.

"Now, we're here because we are under the impression that Harry Potter stays with you during the summers and holidays. Where is he now?"

"We don't know what you're talking about," Ginny answered, trying to kick the Death Eater holding her. "Why are you here anyway? Did _he_ send you?"

"Hold your tongue," one Death Eater snapped.

"If you must know," the man holding Auden said slowly. "We weren't sent here. We came on our own. Think of how we will be rewarded when we bring Harry Potter back to the Dark Lord months sooner than he expected!"

"What do you mean 'sooner than he expected?'" Auden asked. "What's he planning?"

"Ah, we can't tell you that, girly," said the Death Eater. "Well, I guess we could, but we'd have to kill you." He pressed his wand into her throat again and she let out an uncontrollable whimper.

"You do that and I'll kill _you_," Fred snarled, trying to jerk his arms free.

The Death Eaters laughed. "That would be an amusing attempt to watch, now wouldn't it?" one said. "We outnumber you, boy, and we're more powerful. We'd have you dead in a second."

Auden scowled and the Death Eaters laughed again.

"Can you please just let us go?" Ron begged.

"Yeah, we'd love to stay and chat, you know, but now really isn't that convenient," George said. "I have to, uh, clean my ears, trim my toenails, find pairs for all of my socks. Shall I go on?"

"No," scowled the Death Eater holding Ginny. "Where's Harry Potter?"

"We don't know," Auden answered. It was the truth. She really didn't know where Harry had gone. He had obviously escaped the Death Eaters. Maybe he was getting help.

"You don't know?" The Death Eater holding her arms was talking right into her ear and she could feel his breath on her neck. "Maybe this will make you talk." He threw her onto the ground at his feet. "Crucio!"

Auden began to scream. She had heard what the pain from the Cruciatus Curse was like, but it was nothing compared to actually living through it. It felt like both the inside and outside of her body was on fire and being hit with knives at the same time. She could vaguely hear other yells mixed in with her own that she guessed were coming from her friends.

"Where is Harry Potter?" the Death Eater who was torturing her asked.

Auden groaned and slowly rolled onto her back. She had been lying on her side in the fetal position as a result of the pain.

"Answer me!" the Death Eater shouted. He looked around at everyone else. "Anybody else want to answer? No? Okay, put the other girl down here too."

Auden heard Ginny being thrown to the ground beside her. A second later, Ginny was screaming in pain as the Cruciatus Curse was now performed on her.

"Leave them alone!" George yelled.

"You people are sick!" Fred added. Auden opened her eyes to see him struggling once again against the Death Eater holding him back.

"Quiet!" yelled the one who had been doing the torturing. He flicked his wand and a small gash appeared on Fred's face. He yelped in pain and didn't say another word.

"Stop it!" Auden said. It didn't come out as forceful as she had hoped.

The Death Eaters laughed again. "Not until we find out where you're hiding Potter," one said.

Two other Death Eaters performed the Cruciatus Curse on Auden and Ginny once again. Then, all at once, it stopped. Auden looked up to see her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley running towards them. The Death Eaters disappeared before anybody could reach them.

"Are you okay?" Auden's mother practically screamed, as she knelt down beside Auden. Mrs. Weasley was sitting near Ginny, her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine, mum," Auden said quietly, as Fred appeared on her other side. She reached up and turned his head slowly the other way so she could look at his cut.

"It's nothing," he said, gently removing her hand from his face.

"It's _not_ nothing," she insisted. "He hurt you."

"And what do you call what he did to you?" Fred asked. "That was much worse and just watching was much more painful for me than this cut."

"Can you two stand?" Auden's dad asked, looking back and forth between Auden and Ginny. His face was white as a sheet.

"Yeah," Ginny said, carefully getting into a standing position.

Fred took Auden's hand and helped her up. "Are you sure you're okay? You're really pale."

"I'm fine," Auden said. "Just a little drained, but really I'll be fine."

Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were already helping Ginny back to the house. She was protesting, but they insisted.

"Where's Harry?" Ron asked.

"He's inside," Mr. Parker said. "He sent us a letter with Hedwig explaining what was happening. We hurried back and told him to stay inside."

"Bet he didn't like that," Auden said, holding Fred's hand as they walked.

"Weren't there a few protective charms put over the house for the night?" George asked.

"There were," Mrs. Parker said. "But we think that the Death Eaters found a way to break them."

"We're going to have to make a few stronger ones around both of our houses," Auden's dad said, sighing.

Once they reached the Burrow, everyone collapsed into chairs around the kitchen table. Mrs. Weasley busied herself healing the cut on Fred's face. It was obvious that she was shaken up by what had happened. Everyone was.

"I don't think they'll come back again," Harry said.

"Why do you say that?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Well, they weren't sent by You-Know-Who, they came on their own," Ron said.

"Exactly," Harry said. "He's planning something else, I think." Harry looked up and met Auden and Ron's eyes. Auden knew he was talking about whatever Malfoy had been up to.

"I'm sorry your night had to be cut short," Auden said, looking at her parents and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "It's the first time you've all actually gone out in a while and you had to come back to help us."

"You're much more important than a night out," Mrs. Parker said with a small smile. "Besides, what we did get to have of the night was quite enjoyable."

"It's our fault," Fred said, glancing at George. "We put together a firework show with our new Filibuster Fireworks. If we hadn't done that, we all wouldn't have been outside in the first place."

"Oh, honey, it's not your fault," Mrs. Weasley said gently. "It's no one's fault."

"If the Death Eaters had managed to get through the protective charms, they could easily have forced their way into the house," Mr. Weasley added, so it wouldn't have made a difference if you were inside or outside."

There were a few moments where everyone sat in silence before Auden's mother spoke up. "Well, I think we'd better be going home now," she said. "Come on, Auden dear."

"I'll be over in a few minutes," Auden answered.

"No, I don't want you out alone tonight."

"We live right next door."

"Auden." Her dad gave her a look that said she'd better listen.

Auden sighed and leaned over to give Fred a kiss on the cheek. "I love you," she whispered.

"Love you too," he said, reluctantly dropping her hand as she turned to follow her parents out the door.

"You know, I'm not a child," Auden piped up as they reached their house.

"Maybe not, but you _are_ underage for one thing, and it still isn't safe for anybody anymore," Mr. Parker said grimly.

* * *

The next afternoon, Auden walked back to the Burrow. Harry was sitting at the kitchen table with Ron.

"Did you hear from Sirius about his date?" Auden asked, helping herself to a glass of milk.

"Yeah, he sent a letter this morning. He said it went really well and he and Hope decided they want to see each other again," Harry said.

"That's great," Auden said, sitting down next to them. She had just sat down when Fred appeared in the doorway.

"Aha, I thought I heard your voice," he said, coming over to give her a kiss. "How are you?"

"Fine," Auden answered with a smile. "How's your cheek?"

"It's fine. All healed." He grinned and showed off his cut-free cheek.

"Hello, Auden dear. How are you?" Mrs. Weasley asked, coming into the kitchen.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. How's Ginny?"

"She's fine. She's in her room right now. I think Fleur is in there too. Maybe you should stop in there and make sure they haven't ripped out each other's eyes."

Auden laughed. "Sure." She took Fred's hand and they headed up to Ginny's room. Auden knocked on the door before opening it slowly.

"Oh, Auden!" Fleur cried, jumping up from one of the beds and hugging Auden. "I heard all about what 'appened last night!"

"I'm really okay," Auden said awkwardly returning the hug as Fred laughed silently from over Fleur's shoulder.

"I know and I am so glad!" Fleur said, stroking Auden's hair.

Ginny crossed her eyes from her spot on her bed and Auden almost laughed.

"Let's not talk about what happened to us, though," Auden said. She managed to smile. "How was your night last night? Did you and Bill have fun?"

"Yes, eet was a very nice night. Unteel we heard zee news, of course."

Auden just nodded. She really didn't want to talk about last night, but Fleur kept bringing it up. Last night had been scary and it had gotten scarier the more she thought about it.

"And I heard all about 'ow Fred tried to stop those Death Eaters from hurting you," Fleur said.

Auden turned to look at Fred and she grinned at him happily. She was so proud of him for so many reasons, but especially the fact that he was so brave in general, but especially when it came to someone or something hurting Auden. "He did," she said happily.

"What a good boyfriend," Fleur grinned. She reached over and patted Fred's arm and he blushed. Auden frowned. She had never really felt threatened by Fleur before, but now she couldn't stop herself from being jealous, despite the fact that Fleur was madly in love with Bill. And Fred had never really expressed any sort of interest in Fleur, not even when she had visited for the Triwizard Tournament, so why was he blushing around her now?

"Yes, he really is such a great guy," Auden finally said, forcing a smile before dragging Fred from the room. When they reached his room, Auden collapsed onto George's bed while Fred sat on his own.

"What was that all about?" Fred asked. "And why are you sitting all the way over there?"

Auden shrugged, but didn't answer his questions. Instead, she asked one of her own instead. "What time are you going back to the shop tomorrow morning?"

"Early. Probably before you're awake," Fred answered, still giving her a questioning look.

"So I won't see you before you leave?"

"Probably not. Maybe I'll stop by your house though to see if you're awake."

Auden nodded, satisfied with his answer. She leaned back on George's pillows as she chewed on her thumbnail. She was scared all of a sudden. She didn't want to lose Fred to anybody or anything. Not Fleur, not some other girl, and certainly not to the war. She was suddenly scared that somehow he would be taken away from her and she would have no control over it.

"Auden?" Fred asked, looking over at her.

"Hmm?" She glanced over at him as she continued chewing on her nail.

"Can you promise me something?"

"Yeah, anything," she said, turning her full attention to him.

"I want you to be careful when you're back at school. You probably shouldn't go out at night anymore and stay out of trouble. Go easy on the pranks, you know."

"Why?" Auden asked, sitting up and half laughing.

"Seriously, don't laugh. I want you to be safe."

"Hogwarts is safe. Probably a lot safer than people's homes."

"Maybe, but still," Fred said. "I don't want anything to happen to you. Especially after what happened to Katie."

"I'm not going to go pick up random objects from suspicious people," Auden snorted.

"Katie might have been Imperiused! Really, do you have to turn everything into a joke?"

"Says the guy who owns a joke shop," Auden said, frowning. "What's up with you anyway?"

"I don't want you to end up in St. Mungo's!" Fred said.

"I know that. But if you were still at school, you wouldn't listen to anyone if they told you to follow the rules. Not completely, anyway."

"How do you know?" Fred asked.

"Because I know you," Auden laughed. Just then, there was a knock on the door and Ginny entered without even waiting for a response.

"I couldn't spend another moment with Phlegm," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"I don't see why you pick on her so much," Fred said.

"I've tried to be nice to her," Auden added. "But sometimes the things she says…"

"She isn't that bad," Fred shrugged.

"Of course you would say that," Auden said, rolling her eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Fred.

"All guys love Fleur," Auden clarified.

"Have you seen Ron when he's around her?" Ginny asked. "It's completely sickening."

"I don't act like that so I don't know why you're getting your wands in a knot," Fred said.

"Yeah, but you're defending her," Auden said. "And you may not be a drooling idiot but I saw you blush when she complimented you and patted your arm. You're my boyfriend, not hers."

"I-," Fred began, but Auden cut him off.

"Maybe you just like when she says your name in that accent," Auden huffed.

"Why are you being like this?" Fred asked. "Are you jealous of her?"

"No, why would I be jealous of someone that stuck up?"

"Oh, well let's see maybe because she doesn't go around picking on people for no reason, like you are. She doesn't act like a child." Fred answered, standing up.

Auden was silent. Ginny's eyes were going back and forth between Auden and Fred in shock. "This is stupid, you two. You're both just tense and nervous from last night. Just calm down."

Auden ignored her and continued to stare angrily at Fred. "I'm not acting like a child. I have a reason for being annoyed with her! And for your information she does pick on people! Haven't you heard her insult Tonks? And Sirius? She looks at him like he's diseased! I've tried to get along with her but I'm not going to agree with her when she insults people like that. You don't even see it. Maybe you're just too busy secretly ogling at her to notice."

"Maybe I am," Fred said angrily. "She acts a hell of a lot more grown up than you're acting right now."

"Maybe you should go chase after her then!" Auden shouted angrily. "Try to convince her to marry you instead of Bill. Then you won't have to be stuck with me since I'm _so_ immature!"

"Maybe I should!" Fred yelled back. "Because immaturity is something I don't have time for with all that's going on right now."

"You nearly always have time for immaturity, Fred. Unless you're turning over a new leaf for Fleur. Oh, or maybe you're hoping to impress one of her veela relatives when they come for the wedding so you're working on your grown up act."

Fred scowled. "I don't know what's gotten into you today," he said, his voice low as he narrowed his eyes at her, "but you're definitely making what you're accusing me of sound easy. Almost inviting, really."

Auden's mouth dropped open as her eyes immediately filled up with tears. "Of course," she managed to choke out. "Because why would you want me when you could have someone so much better, right?"

Fred squeezed his eyes shut. "No, Auden, I didn't—that was an awful thing to say. I-,"

"I should be getting home," Auden said, turning on her heel and heading for the door. She barely registered Ginny telling Fred what an idiot he was before she had reached the kitchen.

"What's wrong, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked when Auden passed her.

"Nothing, I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," Auden whispered, wiping a few stray tears from her face. She threw open the back door and started running towards her house, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks again. Every guy really did love Fleur. And veela in general, really. Auden felt that she couldn't compete with people like that. It was true that Fred never _truly_ fawned over Fleur, but he had never teased her or made fun of her either. Fred could have any girl he wanted, even a veela. And a veela could definitely make it easy for him to fall for her right back. That scared her. Terrified her, really. She knew deep down that Fred wouldn't leave her for Fleur and that Fleur loved Bill, but Auden didn't want to lose Fred to anyone. She didn't even like the _possibility_ of losing him.

When she reached her bedroom, Auden slammed the door fell onto her bed and let the tears fall freely. Maybe she had been acting kind of childish, but she couldn't help it. She had also said some hurtful things and she knew that, too, but she was upset. She considered going over to apologize and talk things out but something stopped her. Part of her wanted to wait and see if Fred would come after her. She sighed, wanting nothing more for everything to be fixed.

* * *

"I am such an idiot! A complete jerk!" Fred said to Ginny, pacing back and forth across his room

"I've already told you that," Ginny said calmly from her perch on the window seat.

"What do I do?" Fred asked, raking his fingers through his hair as Ginny gave him an 'Are you serious?' look. "I go after her of course." Fred answered his own question with a nod of his head.

"Wait," Ginny said, standing up as Fred headed for the door. When he turned to look at her, she went on. "Why did you say what you did?"

"I was angry." Fred sat down on his bed again. "And you were right…I'm stressed, too. Last night was one of the worst nights of my life and I'm worried about Auden going back to school and getting hurt. I don't want to lose her. And I just took everything out on her. I was kind of losing my patience with her earlier, too, about being careful at school."

"Well, she couldn't have known any of that. You have to tell her. I'm sure she's stressed, too," Ginny said. "And she's so afraid of losing _you_."

"Yeah?" Fred asked.

Ginny nodded. "Look, I suppose it's different for guys, but for girls...veela girls are a huge threat. _Any_ other pretty girl is a threat, but especially veela. They practically make guys drool over them."

"But Fleur's the only veela we've really even come across in two years and she's getting married to Bill."

"Auden _knows _that," Ginny explained. "But she's probably worried about Fleur's relatives coming to the wedding. That's probably why she brought them up. She's afraid that when you're faced with them, she won't be good enough."

"She's always good enough. She's _more_ than good enough. She's perfect," Fred said, shaking his head at the absurdity that Auden would ever think such a thing.

"Well, then go _tell_ her," Ginny said with a laugh.

Fred nodded and stood up. He paused at the door. "You know, I wasn't blushing because I like Fleur. I blushed because of how Auden was looking at me. I could see it in her eyes, how proud she was to have me as a boyfriend. I would never want a veela as a girlfriend, anyway."

"Why?" Ginny asked, tilting her head.

"Because none of them are Auden," Fred said.

Ginny smiled. "Go tell her that."

"Thanks, Ginny," Fred said. He smiled before running down the stairs and out the door, ignoring his mother's questions. He had a problem to fix.

* * *

**A/N: So I'm sorry if the whole argument was kind of stupid, I was having trouble thinking of ideas. I had to rewrite that part so many times. Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!**

**The title of this chapter is from the song **_**The Other Side of the Door**_** by Taylor Swift.**


	28. Chapter 28: An Endless Ride

Auden sat up suddenly in her bed and rubbed her eyes. Apparently, she had fallen asleep. She didn't know for how long, though. It couldn't have been more than twenty minutes, but it seemed like so much longer. She was pretty sure her mother had come in to see what was wrong, but then left when she saw Auden sleeping.

Auden suddenly realized what had caused her to wake up. It was the branch of the tree outside hitting her window repeatedly. Auden frowned. None of the other trees had moving branches, so it wasn't windy. Suddenly, she got nervous. Was someone trying to climb into her room?

Auden grabbed her wand and inched towards the window. She flung it open and looked outside, her wand held out in front of her. She heard a cry of fear as the branch wiggled again.

"Fred?" she asked, blinking in surprise. Fred was hanging on to the tree branch, his feet dangling towards the ground. It looked like he had slipped when she threw the window open.

"Yeah, can I come in?" he asked. "I mean, if you're still mad at me then I suppose letting me hang here is good punishment, but my arms are getting tired."

Auden moved out of the way and Fred inched down the branch until he was close enough to the window so that he could climb inside. Auden stood in the middle of the room with her arms folded.

"Auden, I'm-," Fred started.

"No, I'm sorry," Auden interrupted. "You were right. I am kind of jealous of Fleur. I mean, every guy likes her. I noticed it when she came to Hogwarts for the tournament and even now. And she does insult people sometimes, but you were acting like she doesn't and I was just so upset over the whole thing with the Death Eaters. I don't know, I just kind of exploded."

"It's okay," he whispered.

"It's not. I _was_ acting like a child, but I was already losing my patience with you and then I just snapped. The truth is that even though I know Fleur's marrying Bill, I'm afraid of losing you. Fleur's not the only girl out there who's part veela and there are _full_ veela's out there who are more powerful. I can't compete with them. You'd choose them over me in a heartbeat."

"Auden," Fred whispered, stepping closer. "There's no way I would ever choose _anyone_ over you."

"Veela have those special powers, though. They can _make_ you like them."

Fred crossed the room and hugged her, pulling her close and resting his chin on the top of her head. "Auden, I _love_ you. I fell in love with you completely on my own. If I ever liked a veela, it wouldn't be real. And I have no doubt that you'd put an end to any veela trying to put an enchantment on me."

Auden laughed. "That's true. I would."

Fred kissed the top of her head. "I wasn't being myself earlier either. And if you want to know the absolute truth," he held her at out at arm's length, "if I had the chance, I would never pick Fleur over you. She kind of is stuck up sometimes, but I was trying to give her the benefit of the doubt. And really, you're a lot prettier."

Auden smiled, but then jokingly frowned. "You're such a liar. She's part veela. Didn't I just say that they can _make_ you like them?"

Fred shrugged. "And didn't I just say that that the feelings wouldn't be real? The real me, right here, is saying that you're a lot prettier than any veela I've ever seen."

"Oh, such lies," Auden said, but she was joking now. She pulled away and sat on the edge of her bed.

"It's the truth," Fred shrugged, joining her.

Auden smiled. She was glad that everything was okay with Fred again. "Fleur really does love Bill. I can tell."

"I know," Fred nodded with a small smile. Then, it turned into a grin. "Honestly, I was kind of afraid you weren't going to let me in and leave me dangling on that branch for the rest of the day." He flopped backwards onto the bed.

"I should've," Auden answered, lying down next to him and smirking. Fred lifted up his arm and she snuggled up next to him.

"My arms probably would've broken off and then I wouldn't be able to invent any new products," Fred said.

Auden jokingly cleared her throat.

"And I wouldn't be able to hug you," Fred added, smiling.

Auden laughed. "That's better."

Just then, Auden's mother opened the door and stuck her head in. "Well, I'm glad the mystery of who my daughter was talking to is solved. I was afraid she was going crazy. Would you two care to tell me what happened earlier?"

"Just a disagreement," Auden said, smiling. "But it's all better now."

"Good," Mrs. Parker said. "Do you want to stay for dinner, Fred?"

"Sure, thanks," Fred said.

Mrs. Parker smiled and closed the door. Auden snuggled further into Fred's chest.

"Can I make something clear?" Fred asked.

"Sure," Auden answered.

"When I blushed earlier, I wasn't blushing because of what Fleur said."

"No?" Auden smiled.

Fred shook his head. "I was blushing because of how you were looking at me. The look said that you were so proud to have me as your boyfriend."

"I am," Auden whispered. "You've been an incredible boyfriend."

Fred didn't answer right away. "Remember back when we first started dating, I asked you why you were dating me and not someone else?"

"Yeah," Auden answered.

"Well, I guess I still feel that way sometimes and to know that you're proud to have _me_ as your boyfriend makes me really happy."

"So I guess we both have some insecurities about ourselves," Auden said quietly. She paused. "I'm not picking anyone else, Fred. You're it."

Fred grinned. "What is _it_, exactly?"

Auden shrugged. "_It_. The one."

"How can you tell?"

"Because I love you. I can see us having a future together. And I've never felt the feelings I feel for you for anyone else."

"Not even Cedric?" Fred asked tentatively.

Auden didn't answer right away. "I liked Cedric a lot. I really did. He was an _amazing_ guy. I don't know how my feelings for him would've developed because we didn't get very far. And besides, the feelings I felt for you, even back then, were a lot stronger."

"He loved you, though," Fred continued. "I loved you and so did he."

"And?" Auden asked.

"Maybe things would've been different with him. I'm sure he wouldn't have spewed out random nonsense that he didn't mean like I did today."

"He's human, too, Fred. Or, he _was_. The point is that even if Cedric were alive, I'd still be with you and I still love you no matter what. You've been there for me through _everything_. You know everything there is to know about me and love me anyway. I couldn't really say the same for Cedric. I mean, I knew he loved me, but he hasn't been there for everything like you have. And there _was_ that one time when he told me he didn't like it when I laughed and accidentally snorted."

"He wasn't used to it, I guess," Fred said. "He still loved you, anyway, though. See, I love when you let out those little snorts." He paused. "What if I told you that when you finally chose me on the night of the Yule Ball, I felt proud of myself. I kept thinking that in the end you wanted me, not him, and it felt good to have that one up on him."

Auden exhaled through her nose. "Do you still feel that way?"

Fred shrugged. "Sometimes I wonder how it happened."

"I told you. You've really been there for me. You _know_ me. Stop doubting yourself, Fred."

"Only if _you_ stop doubting _your_self."

Auden agreed and smiled, pressing her cheek into Fred's chest.

When dinner was almost ready, Fred and Auden helped set the table and when Auden's dad came home from work, they sat down to eat. During dinner, Auden's dad started a conversation with Fred about how their favorite Quidditch teams were doing and it was impossible for Auden or her mother to get a word in.

"Men," Auden sighed, stabbing some peas with her fork and shaking her head.

"They wouldn't even notice if we stood on the table and did that Muggle dance. What's it called, the macaroni?" Auden's mother asked.

"No, I think it's something else. The macaroon, maybe," Auden said. She knew Hermione had said something to her about it once, but she couldn't remember.

"Whatever it is, we could be dancing it on the table like nutters and they would just continue their conversation around us," her mother said, standing up to clear her dishes.

Fred glanced at Auden as she stood up. "Oh, finally noticed me, have you?" she joked, kissing his forehead.

"Sorry," Fred muttered.

Auden laughed. "I have to go help wash dishes."

"Can it wait a few seconds longer?" Fred asked.

"I think it can," Auden smirked.

"Wow, these peas are just delicious," her dad exclaimed loudly as he suddenly became fascinated with them. "You have three seconds," he whispered to Auden and Fred.

"Really, dad?" Auden sighed.

"Yes, really. Time starts…now! Three, two, one!" He had counted down way too fast and Auden and Fred had ended up bumping noses in their hurry.

"Dad," Auden groaned. Her father shrugged and smirked at them. Auden rolled her eyes and went to help her mother.

Fred stayed for a few hours after dinner. They sat in the living room on the couch. Auden's parents came and joined them a few minutes later. Auden caught her mother's eye and she grinned. Her parents loved Fred, it was obvious and Auden couldn't have asked for a better relationship between them.

"Well, I should be going. I have to get up early to go back to the shop with George," Fred said sadly as he stood up, pulling Auden with him.

"I'll walk you to the front door," Auden said.

"Three seconds!" her dad yelled as they left the room. Auden heard her mother whack him with a magazine.

Fred closed the front door behind them as they stepped out onto Auden's front steps. "I'm coming to Hogwarts for your birthday," he announced. "I don't know how, but I'll find a way."

"You shouldn't risk anything," Auden said. "There's so much security now and-,"

"No, I want to."

"I thought you didn't want me sneaking around school too much," Auden smirked.

"Well, it's different if you're with me."

"Oh I see. Because attackers don't stand a chance against you."

Fred snorted. "Very funny, Aud."

"Seriously, don't go through too much trouble."

"It really won't be too much trouble. George and I are in the Order now, so we can pretend to go to Hogwarts on business. Although, Dumbledore will see right through that, but maybe he'll let me come anyway."

Auden interrupted his rant by slipping her arms around him and gently kissing him.

"I should ramble like that more often if that's what I get for it," he whispered, smiling. He leaned down and kissed Auden again, tangling one hand in her hair and putting the other on her hip.

"Mm," Auden agreed. "You're cute when you ramble."

"I don't want the two of us to be separated again," Fred mumbled, sighing as he pulled her even closer to him. "I just miss you _so much_ when you're at school."

"Not as much as I miss you," Auden said, leaning up to kiss him. After a moment, Fred deepened it. He was kissing her almost desperately. Not that Auden minded, but it was just so different. It was also the last time they'd get to kiss each other for a while.

"You should go," she whispered, finally pulling away and resting her forehead against Fred's, "before my dad barges out here on us. I think we've had more than three seconds."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with you," Fred said. He began walking backwards towards his house, slowly slipping his hand out of Auden's. "Be careful at school. Promise me you will."

"I promise," Auden said. "Don't do anything you wouldn't do, right?"

Fred laughed. "Exactly, but really, be careful."

"I will," Auden promised. "I love you."

"Love you too," Fred answered, before waving at her, turning, and running the rest of the way home. Auden sighed and went back inside.

* * *

The next day, Auden found herself on the train back to school. Harry was rambling on about Malfoy again but Auden wasn't listening. Ron wasn't either. It looked like he was about to fall asleep any second.

Harry held Quidditch tryouts to replace Katie the first week back at school. Dean Thomas ended up getting the position. Harry didn't look too thrilled about it and Auden thought she knew why, but he had been the best out of everyone who came to try out.

Katie was out of St. Mungo's and was expected to be back at school soon, but she wouldn't be well enough to play Quidditch for another few weeks at least. George was thrilled. From what Auden had heard, he was still visiting her regularly.

The next Monday morning, Auden walked down to the common room to see a crowd of people standing around the bulletin board that consisted mostly of sixth years.

"What's going on?" Auden asked, snaking through to the front of the group where Ron, Harry, and Hermione were standing.

"We can learn how to Apparate now," Ron said, pointing to the sign.

"'Apparition lessons,'" Auden read. "'If you are seventeen years of age, or will turn seventeen on or before the 31st August next, you are eligible for a twelve week course of Apparition lessons from a Ministry of Magic Apparition instructor. Please sign below if you would like to participate. The cost is 12 galleons.'"

Auden snatched Ron's quill out of his hand right as he leaned over to sign the paper and signed the paper herself before handing the quill back.

Ron had just finished signing when Lavender ran over from the dormitory stairs and threw her arms around him. "Hello Won Won!" she squealed. Hermione rolled her eyes and left the room. Auden and Harry smirked at Ron and followed Hermione. To their surprise, Ron caught up with them soon after.

"Why aren't you with Lav Lav?" Hermione asked.

"Er, didn't want to be," Ron said. "Anyway, learning to Apparate should be fun. I've always wanted to try."

"It's not that fun," Harry said. He had done Side-Along Apparation with Dumbledore over the summer.

"Oh, that's right, I forgot you had already done it, Harry," Ron said. "I wish Fred and George would take me, but they only take Auden."

Auden just smirked at him as they reached the great hall and sat down.

* * *

That night, Harry had one of his lessons with Dumbledore. Auden, Ron, and Hermione didn't wait up for him since he usually came back late at night. The next morning, at breakfast, however, Harry seemed anxious to tell them what had happened.

"Dumbledore showed me a memory that he took from Slughorn, but it had been tampered with," he said.

"Tampered with?" Ron asked. "Who tampered with it?"

"Dumbledore said that it was Slughorn himself because he was too embarrassed by the real memory."

"So what do you have to do?" Auden asked.

"I have to convince Slughorn to give me the real one. According to Dumbledore, it's important that I get it."

"Well, that'll be easy, mate," Ron said, filling his plate with scrambled eggs. "Slughorn loves you. You're his favorite student thanks to that potions book of yours."

"I actually don't think it'll be that easy, Harry," Hermione said, folding her newspaper. "If Slughorn tampered with it, then he must have been intent on keeping that memory hidden and not seen by anyone."

"I guess I'll stay after Potions class today and give it a try," Harry shrugged.

During Potions, Slughorn put them to work at once. He assigned everyone a different poison and the assignment was to come up with an antidote. Truthfully, Auden had no idea what to do. There were no specific directions; it all had to do with some law of potions that she only half understood.

"Your potion looks perfect, Hermione," she muttered.

"Why don't you look at Harry's book for help?" Hermione said, smirking. "Not that it would help much, though. It's all about concepts, not directions."

"Are you sure there aren't any instructions from the prince?" Ron asked, looking at Harry's book.

"None at all," Harry answered, flipping through the pages on antidotes.

Auden began adding ingredients to her cauldron. Hermione's potion was a light silvery color while Auden's was dark grey. Ron's was black, and Harry's was the color of mud.

Suddenly, Harry glanced down at his book and his eyes lit up. He ran over to the storage cupboard and rummaged through it, returning moments later with something clenched in his hand.

"What is that?" Auden asked. Harry shook his head and didn't answer.

When Slughorn came around to check the Potions, he made no comment on Auden's or Ron's and nodded slightly at Hermione's, before coming to Harry's cauldron, which he had emptied.

"Harry?" Slughorn began, but Harry uncurled his fist and showed Slughorn a small, brown stone-looking objects. Slughorn was silent for a minute, before he burst into laughter. "How clever!" he cried. "A bezoar! I must say, that would indeed work as an antidote to most poisons." He walked away, chuckling.

Hermione was furious that Harry had once again gotten praised for not doing his own work. Auden thought the whole thing was hilarious. She told Fred all about it in a letter that she wrote that afternoon.

_Dear Fred, _

_School is great, considering it is school. I'm being careful, so don't worry. I hope you are too. How's everything at the shop? And how's Katie? I hope she comes back to school soon. I miss her. _

_Speaking of Katie, Dean Thomas has replaced her on the Quidditch team for now. He's nice and all, but nowhere near as good of a player as Katie. I don't think Ginny likes him as much anymore. Every time I ask her how things are going, she looks like she just swallowed a lemon. I think she's going to break up with him soon, but just keep in mind that you didn't hear that from me. _

_Anyway, what I really wanted to tell you was that today in Potions, we had to come up with an antidote to a specific poison. Nobody really knew what they were doing, except maybe Hermione, but then Harry ran to the storage cupboard and came back with a bezoar. It really was clever, and Slughorn thought that it was brilliant. Hermione was about to explode from anger, though. I thought it was hilarious. Definitely something you would have done._

_Apparating lessons are starting this weekend. I'll finally be able to Apparate on my own now. Not that Apparating with you wasn't great fun or anything._

_Anyway, that's all that's been going on. If you're still thinking of coming over here on my birthday, then please be careful. Maybe you should talk to Dumbledore instead of just trying to sneak over here. Write back soon._

_Love, Auden_

_Dear Auden,_

_The shop is going wonderfully. Still busy, of course, but not as busy as it was at the beginning of the school year. _

_Katie's great. She should be coming to back to school within the next few weeks, although I don't know when she can play Quidditch again. Hopefully soon, because even though I've never seen him fly, I can't imagine Dean Thomas being a good Quidditch player. Although, I guess he can't be that bad if Harry picked him. _

_As for Ginny, if she breaks up with Dean, she'd better start dating Harry. He clearly likes her and she hasn't really given up on him. Even I could see that. Anyway, they're so slow at realizing what's going on, I'll be surprised if they start dating by the time I reach 50. _

_While we're on the subject of lovely romance tales, I'd like to remind you that Valentine's Day is coming up and while normally I think the holiday is rather cheesy, I am going to send you something. And no, I won't tell you what it is. You'll find out when you get it. I won't even give you a hint besides the fact that it is not a giant singing teddy bear. Quite frankly, you'd look like a goof carrying that around. Although, it would annoy Snape, which would be a laugh. _

_As for Apparating, the lessons are actually rather funny. Some people get splinched. Not anything horrible, but it can be quite entertaining to see your classmate walking around with an eyebrow or their upper lip missing. But don't worry, you'll be fine._

_I'm still planning on coming up for your birthday. I already wrote to Dumbledore and he said it would be fine and he's going to alert the Order members on duty that night so that they're aware that I'm coming. See, I'm one step ahead of you. See you then. I love you._

_Love, Fred, the better looking twin with the better looking girlfriend, but don't tell George or Katie. _

_Dear Fred,_

_You just gave me the best idea ever for a prank. I'm not going to tell you about it until after I do it, so just be patient. Remember, young Freddie, patience is a virtue. And no, I won't get myself into any trouble. The victim won't even know it was me._

_Apparating lessons start tomorrow. Hopefully I'll come out of it with all of my limbs intact. I can't kiss you without an upper lip._

_Thank you for your kind words about how goofy I'd look carrying a giant singing teddy bear. But don't worry, I'm not sending you a giant singing bear for Valentine's Day either. I made this decision with your social life in mind because I believe that you would look silly as well carrying it around. George would never let you live it down and he would probably charm it to follow you everywhere which would be especially awkward in the bathroom and at night while you're trying to sleep. See, I think these things through quite well. _

_Anyway, I'll see you on my birthday. While you're here, I'll be giving you your birthday present. I currently don't know what it is yet, but I'll be looking for a gift when I go into Hogsmeade next time. I'll try to refrain from buying you anything that's giant, fluffy, and sings. I miss you to Pluto and back ten times. _

_Love, Auden_


	29. Chapter 29: In Over My Head

Auden went down to the Great Hall the next afternoon with Harry and Hermione for the Apparating lessons. Ron had been about to walk down with them, but he had been ambushed by Lavender, who was really starting to get on Auden's nerves. Almost every night she was bombarding Auden with questions about what it was like growing up with Ron as her best friend. There wasn't really much to tell. At first, Auden had told her a few good stories, but as time went on, she began to give her vaguer answers. It was tiring being asked so many questions when she was trying to sleep.

Hermione was nervously wringing her hands as they entered the great hall where the tables had been moved so that the room was clear.

"What are you so nervous about, Hermione?" Auden asked.

"What if I'm awful at this?" she asked.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Here we go," he said.

"I'm serious! What if I'm the worst out of everyone?"

"Okay, Hermione," Auden said. "First of all, you won't be the worst. When have you ever been the worst in anything?"

"When we learned Patronus Charms last year in the D.A. It's the only spell I've ever had trouble with."

"Okay, well still, that's one thing it took you a while to learn. But you were nowhere near the worst. Secondly, we're just learning and nobody's going to be great the first time and it's not like we're taking our test any time soon."

Hermione didn't get to respond because the instructor from the Ministry was calling for everyone's attention. He was an old man with thin, wispy gray hair, and he was so tiny and frail looking he looked like a puff of air would knock him over.

"Good morning," he said in a small, cheery voice. "My name is Wilkie Twycross and I shall be your Ministry Apparition instructor for the next twelve weeks. I hope to be able to prepare you for your Apparition tests in this time—,"

"Malfoy, be quiet and pay attention!" yelled Professor McGonagall, cutting the instructor off.

Everybody's head snapped towards Malfoy, who looked angry as he stepped away from Crabbe. It looked as if the two of them had been whispering about something.

"Anyway, by the time our lessons are over, many of you will be ready to take your tests," Twycross said, ignoring the interruption. "As many of you probably know, it is usually impossible to Apparate or Disapparate within Hogwarts. Dumbledore has lifted the enchantment in only the Great Hall for one hour so that we can practice. Now, I would like each of you to place yourselves so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

Auden shifted around so that she was standing between Harry and Hermione and five feet behind Ron who was standing next to Lavender, of course.

"Harry, where are you going?" Hermione suddenly asked.

Auden looked up to see Harry darting away to a spot across the hall. "He's trying to listen in on Malfoy," Auden said to Hermione, noticing where Harry was headed.

"Oh for goodness sake," Hermione sighed.

"Now then, if we are all in a good position," the instructor said, clapping his hands together for silence. He waved his wand and a hoop appeared on the floor in front of everyone. "When Apparating it is important to remember the three D's!" he exclaimed. "Destination, Determination, Deliberation!"

Auden snorted. The instructor was definitely very enthusiastic about Apparating.

"Now, the first step is to fix your mind firmly upon the desired destination," he said. "For now, it is the inside of the hoop in front of you. Please focus on that destination now."

Auden stared at the inside of her hoop, her eyes never leaving the scuffed and worn floor of the Great Hall.

"Next," continued Twcross, "focus your determination to occupy the space inside the hoop."

Auden glanced up for the first time and looked around the room. Hermione was clenching her teeth and squinting into her hoop. Ernie Macmillan looked as if he was trying to lay an egg, and Pansy Parkinson looked as if her head was going to pop off from concentration. Auden giggled and looked back at her hoop.

"Now the third and final step is, when I give the command, turn on the spot, feeling your way into nothingness, moving with deliberation! When I say go. One, two, three…go!"

The room was suddenly full of people spinning on the spot, but not going anywhere. Auden ended up almost falling over from enthusiasm. Hermione was spinning over and over again, looking disgruntled.

"Hermione, stop," Auden said, "you're making me dizzy."

"Now, now, let's try again," Twycross said. He didn't look fazed that nobody had successfully Apparated into their hoop.

It wasn't until the fourth attempt that something interesting happened. Susan Bones splinched herself. Most of her body appeared inside of her hoop, except for her left leg, which was standing five feet away. Auden's eyes widened. That was definitely an odd and slightly scary sight.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand and with a puff of smoke, Susan's leg was reattached to her body, but Susan looked as if she never wanted to experience Apparition again.

By the end of the lesson, nobody except Susan had made any progress. But nobody seemed upset about it except Hermione.

"Did anything happen to you?" Ron asked Auden as Harry caught up to them. "I think I felt something once. A kind of tingling in my foot."

"Aw, maybe your shoes were tied too tight, Won Won," Hermione said, walking briskly past them and out the door.

"What's got her wand in a knot?" Ron asked.

"Well, I think it's a few things," Auden shrugged.

"Like what? Did she expect to Apparate successfully on her first try? That's almost impossible," Ron said.

"I think it's a few other things as well," Auden added.

"Hey, listen," Harry said, clearly not having listened to the conversation. "Let's go back to the dorm, I want to check something."

"What are we doing? Can you please just tell us?" Ron asked as they climbed the stairs to the boy's dorm a few minutes later.

"Wait just a minute," Harry said, rummaging in his trunk.

"Harry, come on," Ron huffed.

Auden sat down on Ron's bed and Ron sat next to her, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Malfoy is using Crabbe and Goyle as lookouts," Harry explained. "I just want to know where he's going that he needs them to be lookouts. Aha!" He straightened up holding up what he had been looking for.

"The Marauder's map?" Auden asked.

"Yeah, it'll tell us where Malfoy is. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," Harry said. Words appeared on the map. Harry flopped onto his own bed and studied the labeled dots moving around the paper. "Come here, help me find him."

Auden and Ron stood on either side of Harry and stared down at the map. "There he is," Auden said, pointing to Malfoy's dot.

"See, Harry?" Ron said. "He's in the Slytherin common room with Crabbe, Goyle, and Pansy."

Harry looked disappointed. "Well, I'm keeping an eye on him from now on. Mischief managed." He tapped the wand and stood up as the words disappeared and the map was once again a blank piece of paper.

* * *

Valentine's Day arrived a few weeks later, on a Sunday, and Auden's prank was ready to go. She had gotten what she needed in Hogsmeade the week before when she had picked up Fred's birthday gift—a book written by some famous joke shop owner that Fred idolized, and a small stuffed bear, just for laughs. It didn't play music though. Really, it was a shame, but Auden took what she could get.

That morning, she woke up early and sent Fred's Valentine's gift off to him, which was just a box of his favorite candy and a homemade card. Then she went back to her dorm. Luckily it was empty. She flung open her trunk and dug through it until she found what she had hidden at the bottom. A large bottle of floral scented shampoo. It was for Snape. She had even tied a ribbon on it and included a little tag that said "From your secret admirer."

She knew that Snape would probably be at breakfast by now and not in his office, so Auden tiptoed down to the dungeons and slipped into Snape's office. It was unlocked. She left the shampoo on his desk chair and quietly left the room, smirking slightly. As she snuck back through the dungeons, she felt a hand on her arm. With a loud gasp she turned around.

"Malfoy?" she asked, surprised.

"Will you be quiet?" he answered angrily. "Why are you down here sneaking around Why aren't you at breakfast? Or maybe I should go get Professor Snape and you can explain it to him."

"And while you're at it, you can explain why you were sneaking around down here too," Auden shot back.

Malfoy looked at her, dropped her arm, and took a step back. "Fine," he said. "I won't say anything."

"Really? That's it?" Auden asked. "You're not going to try to get me in trouble? No rude comments?"

"No," Malfoy said. He looked just as awful as he did at Slughorn's party, if not worse. He had dark circles under his eyes and he looked paler than usual and extremely stressed.

"What's wrong?" Auden asked. She had no idea why she was trying to be nice. This was the boy who had teased practically everyone who wasn't in Slytherin since first year. He had insulted her and the Weasleys last year when his team lost the Quidditch match. And yet, Auden felt herself feeling sorry for him.

"Nothing's wrong," Draco snapped, half turning away.

"Okay," Auden said, putting her hands up in defeat and turning to leave.

"My family," Draco began, taking a deep breath. Auden turned around. "You must know that my dad's in jail."

Auden nodded. "Yeah...and is that why you look so terrible?"

"Well, sort of. He and I don't always get along. It's complicated." His expression turned stony again. "And it's a lot more than you could ever understand."

"What are you up to?" Auden asked, crossing her arms. She didn't expect him to answer her question, but she had asked it anyway. "I mean, you look terrible, you were sneaking around the night of Slughorn's Christmas party, you passed up a chance to get me in trouble...I don't get it."

"Like I said, it's complicated. And why would you seriously think I would tell _you_ of all people? You'd just try to stop me or get me in trouble."

"Only if you're doing something that needs to be stopped," she retaliated, raising her eyebrows.

Malfoy narrowed his eyes. "You're one of the people that suspect I'm the one who cursed Katie Bell."

"Sort of, but I'm not the only one."

"Potter?" Malfoy snapped.

Auden shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not. You don't seem to keen on giving up information, so neither am I."

Malfoy scowled before turning to head back down the hallway. "Still dating that blood traitor scumbag Weasley?" he said, turning to walk backwards so he could sneer at her.

Auden sniffed and her expression changed to a glare. "Yes, I am. And you should watch who you're calling scumbag when you're the biggest one of all." She turned and stomped away. Auden didn't slow down until she reached the Great Hall. Breakfast was nearly over by now, but she saw Hermione sitting at the Gryffindor table, reading the Daily Prophet.

"This came for you," she said as Auden sat down. Auden looked at the package Hermione was pointing at. "Polka wouldn't stop poking at me until I took the package. I think she expected you to be in here."

"I was doing something," Auden said, reaching for the package.

"Oh, no," Hermione groaned. "I don't like the sound of that." She put down the newspaper and stared at Auden.

"I was leaving Snape a very thoughtful Valentine's Day gift," Auden replied.

Hermione sighed and closed her eyes, but she looked like she was trying to fight back a smile. "Shampoo?" she asked.

"You got it," Auden answered, unwrapping the package with the force of a tornado. She was excited to see what was inside. The box was thin and about a foot long. When she pulled off the cover, she saw a note resting on top of a nest of tissue paper.

_Dear Auden, _

_See, I told you I wasn't sending you a giant singing bear. Aren't you glad? If you're disappointed then I will gladly send you one, but personally I think you'll be happier with the gift in this box. _

_Anyway, I just wanted you to know a few things about this gift, so go ahead and open it now. Go on, I'll wait. _

Auden smiled, set the note aside, and lifted away the tissue paper. She smiled even wider when she saw what was inside. It was a single red rose. She pulled it out with her right hand and picked up the note again with her left.

_I know this looks like an ordinary flower, but it's not. I know you're a smart girl, so you probably wondered how it made the journey from me to you in just a box with no water and managed to look perfect. Well, you're in luck, because I'm going to tell you. I charmed it so that it will never die. It's a real rose that smells nice and everything, but it will never wilt or die and it doesn't need water either. It took me forever to get the charm just right and I'm 99.9% positive it will work. If the flower does die or wilt in the slightest, you can sue me for every Galleon I'm worth. Anyway, even though it's not much, I hope you like it. _

_I got your gift early this morning just before I sent this out_ _and thank you so much. The card was incredibly witty and clever. The pop up heart when I opened it was really a nice touch and I can tell you that the chocolates will probably be gone within the week, especially since George will steal about half of them. _

_Please tell me about that prank. I've been in agony ever since you mentioned it in your last letter. Especially since you said I gave you the idea. I wish I could be there to see it. And also so that I could hug you with such force that you fall over. _

_Anyway, have a wonderful day today and don't forget that I love you to Pluto and back more times than you love me. I bet Pluto is happy that we're giving it all this attention. Personally, I think Pluto's always been a bit neglected. Planets like Earth, Uranus, and Mars always steal all its thunder. I mean, who hasn't used a Uranus joke at least once in their life? _

_I'll see you in less than a month. _

_Love, Fred_

_P.S. How are Apparition lessons going? Anyone splinched themselves yet?_

Auden smiled as she set the note back on the table and lifted the flower to her nose.

"What does the rose do?" Hermione asked with a smile. "Squirt water? Or better yet, Stinksap?"

"No," Auden answered, rolling her eyes and grinning. "He put a charm on it so that it never dies."

"How sweet. If only that charm could be used on people," Hermione said, returning to the paper.

"Why, anyone we know die?" Auden asked, panic growing inside of her.

"No, nobody we know. Just a few Muggle deaths. And Bertha Jorkins still hasn't been found so it is suspected that she's dead."

"That's awful," Auden said as Hermione nodded.

Once breakfast was over, Auden returned to her dorm and put her rose in an empty vase on her night stand, right next to the picture of her in Fred. It was weird how she had only been thirteen in that picture and Fred only fifteen. Their world had changed so much since then. She decided to write to Fred and thank him for the gift, so she sat down and pulled out a quill and some parchment.

_Dear Fred, _

_The rose was a great idea. I heard that the charm you put on it was a complex one. I really don't know why you didn't get more OWLs than you did. You definitely deserved more. _

_Apparition Lessons are going great. I think I'm closer to actually Apparating than I was a few weeks ago. Hermione actually successfully Apparated last week for the first time. No surprise there. Ron and Harry haven't managed to make any improvement either, along with most of the people in my year, so I don't feel so bad. Susan Bones was the first one to actually make any progress at all at our very first lesson and she was also the first to splinch herself. Her entire leg separated from her body, Fred. She was terrified, and rightfully so._

_As for the prank, I bought some shampoo for Snape and tied a ribbon on it with a note attached that says "from your secret admirer." I left it in his office this morning. I saw him this afternoon and he just looked extra angry and his hair was as greasy as ever. I don't think he liked it. I'm quite hurt, but not really. _

_Also, on my way out of the dungeons, I ran into Malfoy. He threatened to tell on me, but then he let me go. He didn't even try to make fun of me or anything. At first, anyway. Something's definitely up with him. He looks awful, like he hasn't slept in days. And he was hinting that he has some family problems between him and his dad. I know this sounds crazy, but I was starting to feel sorry for him. That is, until he went right back to insulting me. Well, you mostly, but when he insults you, he insults me. No need to come beat him up, because I insulted him back. Plus, you don't need to be getting into trouble with the Order or anyone else. You don't want to ruin your opportunity to come see me on my birthday. _

_Thank you again for the gift and I definitely think it is more appropriate than a giant singing bear. _

_Love, Auden_

* * *

The rest of February flew by, and soon it was March 1st, Ron's birthday. There had been a trip to Hogsmeade scheduled on that day, but it had been canceled, leaving both Ron and Auden upset. Once she had found out about the trip, she had written to Fred and asked him to come then instead of on her birthday two days later. This way, he wouldn't have to actually sneak into the castle. Now that it had been canceled, they were back to the original plan.

Auden burst into the boy's dorm on the morning of Ron's birthday just as Seamus and Dean were leaving. From the looks of it, Harry and Ron had just woken up. "Happy birthday!" she shrieked, adding her gift to the pile at the end of Ron's bed.

"Why don't you yell a little louder? I don't think I quite heard you," Ron joked.

"Well, you're seventeen today," Auden said. "You're all grown up, little Ronnie." She leaned over and tried to pinch his cheeks, but he swatted her away.

"Yeah, well, it'll be you in two days," he said.

"Have you done your first bit of legal magic yet?" she asked.

"No, I haven't," Ron said, a grin lifting his lips. He picked up his wand and looked around the room thoughtfully. Finally, he smiled as his eyes fell on Harry, who was digging through his trunk, flinging objects all over the place. Ron waved his wand and caused a pair of socks to repeatedly hit his best friend in the head.

"Harry, are you going to try to look for Malfoy again?" Auden asked as Harry pulled out the Marauder's Map.

"Yeah, and he's not on here," Harry said, frowning as he finally swatted the socks out of the air. Ron let out a snort of laughter and began opening his gifts.

"What do you mean?" Auden asked Harry, moving to sit on his bed and look at the map over his shoulder.

"Malfoy definitely isn't anywhere on here," Harry said.

Auden scanned the map. It was true that Malfoy was nowhere on it. She had told Harry about her encounter with Malfoy on Valentine's Day, which had made Harry all the more suspicious. She had almost regretted telling him because of that. He had become almost obsessed with looking at the map to see where Malfoy was.

"Want a chocolate cauldron?" Ron suddenly asked, sticking one in his own mouth.

"No, thanks," Auden and Harry said in unison.

"Are you sure Malfoy's gone?" Ron asked. "I don't think that's possible."

"He's definitely gone," Harry said.

"Oh, well, let's go down and get breakfast or else we'll have to Apparate on an empty stomach."

"You already ate," Auden joked, glancing at the chocolate cauldrons.

"Yeah, but that doesn't count," Ron said.

Auden rolled her eyes and began examining the rest of Ron's gifts as Harry went to the bathroom to get dressed.

"Ready?" he asked a few minutes later. "Ron?"

Auden looked up. Ron was standing at the window with an odd expression on his face.

Auden and Harry looked at each other. "Ron, are you ready to go get breakfast?" Auden went over and waved her hand in front of his face.

"Huh? Oh, I'm not hungry," Ron said, giving her an odd, dreamy smile before returning to staring out the window.

"But-," Harry began as Auden raised her eyebrows.

"I'll come down with you but I'm just not hungry anymore," Ron said.

"Well you did just eat all those cauldrons," Harry said, nodding.

"But they 'don't count,' I thought," Auden said, making quote marks in the air.

"You guys wouldn't understand," Ron sighed, not looking away from the window.

"Try us," Auden said. "We're two of your best friends."

"Never mind, Aud," Harry said. "Let's go. Coming, Ron?"

Auden shrugged and turned to follow Harry out the door.

"I just can't stand it!" Ron yelled. Auden jumped at the sudden outburst and turned around.

"Can't stand what?" Harry asked, looking alarmed.

"I can't stop thinking about her," Ron sighed.

Auden and Harry glanced at each other again. "Okay, well I certainly didn't get that impression, but why does that stop you from eating breakfast?" Auden asked.

"I don't think she knows I exist," Ron said with a frown.

"Oh she definitely does," Harry said. "She keeps snogging you, doesn't she?"

Auden nodded. She was definitely confused. Why was Ron acting so strange? He was talking about Lavender, wasn't he? Unless this was his way of finally confessing he liked Hermione.

"Who are you talking about?" Ron asked, blinking twice.

"Who are _you _talking about?" Auden asked.

"Romilda Vane." Ron's expression grew dreamy all over again.

"Romilda Vane? Auden asked, shocked. "The girl that's been practically stalking Harry all year?"

"She's been stalking Harry? Why? Does she like him?" Ron asked in a panic.

"Are you joking?" Harry ignored Ron's questions.

"No, I think I love her, you guys," Ron sighed.

Auden's mouth fell open. She didn't know whether to laugh or panic. Ron's behavior was definitely strange on one hand, but on the other hand, it was hilarious. She wished she had one of those Muggle things that recorded people. She could totally blackmail Ron with it.

"Okay, say that again with a straight face," Harry said.

"I love her," Ron repeated. He didn't even crack a smile. "Have you seen her eyes? They're all big and dark and her hair is so shiny and soft looking. Have either of you ever felt her hair? Is it as soft as it looks?"

"I wouldn't know," Auden answered, holding back a laugh.

"You know what? This is a really funny joke, Ron, but just stop." Harry turned to leave but faster than lightning, Ron stepped forward and punched Harry right in the side of the head.

"Ron! Stop!" Auden yelled. She was totally scared now. Things had all of a sudden stopped being any bit funny. Something was seriously wrong.

"Levicorpus!" Harry yelled. Ron was pulled into the air by his ankles and he dangled there, gasping for breath.

"You insulted her! You said it was a joke!"

"Ron, this is mental," Harry said.

"Wait, Harry. What did Romilda Vane give you for Christmas? What type of food was it that she gave to you that was spiked with love potion?" Auden asked.

"I think it was a box of chocolate cauldrons, why?" Harry asked, following Auden's gaze. A box of chocolate cauldrons was lying on Ron's bed, with three empty spots.

"Well, that explains a lot," Auden sighed, meeting Harry's concerned gaze. They needed to get Ron some help.


	30. Chapter 30: The Best Thing

"Where did you get those chocolate cauldrons, Ron?" Harry asked gently.

"They were a birthday present! I offered you one."

"You picked them up off the floor, didn't you?" Harry asked.

"They fell off my bed," Ron argued.

"No, they didn't," Harry argued back. "They were mine. I threw them out of my trunk when I took out the map. They're the chocolate cauldrons Romilda Vane gave me for Christmas. She put love potion in them!"

"Romilda? Did you say Romilda?" Ron asked, still dangling in the air.

Harry sighed and clapped his hand to his forehead as Auden groaned. They were getting nowhere.

"Can you introduce me?" Ron asked eagerly.

"We should bring him to Slughorn," Auden whispered to Harry. Slughorn was the only person she could think of who could help and not ask too many questions.

"Good idea," he nodded. Then, he turned to Ron. "Alright, Ron, we'll introduce you to Romilda."

"Oh, good. Can you let me down first, though? I don't want to meet her like this."

"I actually think that's a great way to meet girls, Ron," Auden said as Harry lifted the spell and Ron crashed to the floor.

"How do I look?" he asked, standing up.

"Excellent," Auden smirked. "Romilda will melt into goo at your feet."

Ron nodded in satisfaction and Harry snorted in his attempt to hold back his laughter. "Come on, she'll be in Slughorn's office."

"Why?" Ron asked, as they went down the dormitory stairs. "Is he in love with her too? I'll bet he is. We have to get there before he tries to pull a move on her."

"No, Ron, Slughorn doesn't love Romilda," Auden said, wrinkling her nose.

"She has extra potions lessons with him," Harry explained, making something up on the spot.

"Oh, I see," Ron nodded excitedly. "Do you think Slughorn will let me take lessons with her? I should ask if I can."

"Great idea," Harry answered with mock excitement.

When they reached the common room, Lavender was standing near the portrait hole. Just what they needed.

"You're late, Won-Won," she pouted.

"Oh, Lavender, do you happen to have your Potions book in the dorm? I just need to borrow it for a second," Auden said, trying to distract her.

"Not now," Lavender said dismissively. "Anyway, yours is sitting on your bed. I saw it this morning." She turned back to Ron. "I have your gift, Won-Won," she said with a squeal.

"Leave me alone. Harry and Auden are going to introduce me to Romilda Vane. I lov—," Ron began, but Auden clapped a hand over his mouth and dragged him from the common room. Once they were in the hallway, she let go of his mouth and burst into laughter. She felt sort of bad for Lavender, but she had to admit that this was hilarious.

"What's so funny?" Ron asked. "And why did you put your hand over my mouth?"

"We didn't want Romilda to hear you shouting. We're going to surprise her," Auden said, calming down.

"Come on, Ron," Harry said, leading the way down the hallway.

When Slughorn answered the door to his office, he stared blankly at the three of them. "Well, well, why are you three here so early?"

"Ron accidentally ate something with love potion inside of it," Harry explained.

Ron was trying to look inside the office for Romilda. "Is she here already? Where is she?" he asked.

"Ron, calm down, she's not here yet," Auden said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"She's just running late," Auden lied.

"Oh, okay, maybe she's brushing that beautiful long hair of hers."

"Yeah, that's probably it. Probably making it look nice just for you," Auden rolled her eyes.

"Come in then," Slughorn said, chuckling. "Is the potion a recent one? They can strengthen the longer they're kept."

"Er, well I guess that explains it," Harry said. "It's his birthday today, Professor," he added. "He thought the love potion was one of his gifts."

Slughorn began mixing ingredients in a glass. Ron was bouncing around on the balls of his feet and eventually Auden had to grab his arms to stop him.

"Drink this," Slughorn finally said, handing Ron the glass. "It's for your nerves."

"Thanks, what a good idea!" Ron said, gulping down the potion. It took a few seconds for his silly grin to disappear and be replaced by a shocked expression. Auden was fighting the urge to laugh again.

"All better?" she asked. Ron nodded slowly and sunk into a chair.

"Thank you so much, Professor," Harry said, grinning.

"Don't mention it," Slughorn answered. "How about a drink? I have butterbeer, firewhiskey, and oh, I was supposed to give this one to Dumbledore for Christmas." Slughorn was holding a bottle wrapped with a red bow. "Oh well, he can't miss what he never had." He grinned as he popped open the bottle.

"Thanks," Auden said as Slughorn handed her, Ron, and Harry their drinks. Ron took a sip right away. Auden and Harry's glasses were halfway to their lips when Ron dropped his glass and started to stand up, but instead he collapsed to the floor, twitching uncontrollably. His eyes were opened wide and it looked like he was having a seizure.

"Ron!" Harry yelled as Auden screamed, flung her glass aside and knelt down beside Ron.

"What's wrong with him? Can you do something?" Auden asked, looking at Slughorn as she grabbed Ron's hand.

"I—I don't know," Slughorn stuttered.

"You're a teacher, you're supposed to know!" Auden said, tears coming to her eyes. "Ron, can you hear me?" she asked, but Ron didn't answer. He just kept twitching around.

Harry flung himself over the couch and almost smashed into the table where Slughorn kept his Potions ingredients. He rummaged through box after box until he found whatever he had been looking for.

"Here, put this in his mouth," he said, throwing the object to Auden. She caught it and immediately shoved it into Ron's mouth.

"Come on, Ron," she whispered. Ron twitching slowly stopped, he gave a large gasp, and then he became unconscious.

"I'll go get help," Slughorn said, his eyes wide. He turned and ran from the room.

Auden didn't let go of Ron's hand. This moment definitely held a top spot on her list of scary moments. She was trembling from head to toe and her heart was racing.

Harry sank into a chair, gasping for breath. He was just as shaken up as Auden was.

"A bezoar," Auden said quietly, looking at her friend with a small smile.

"Yeah," Harry nodded.

"Weird, isn't it? How the Prince from your potions book mentioned the bezoar as an antidote to all poisons and then you had to use one in real life?"

"Really weird," Harry said. "But we're lucky that I had that book or else I would never have thought of a bezoar."

Slughorn returned then with Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall, who were both insanely pale.

"What happened?" Professor McGonagall asked as Madam Pomfrey bent over Ron, checking his vital signs.

"Well, Ron had been under an accidental love potion, so we brought him to Slughorn and he gave him the antidote," Auden began, standing and moving beside Harry's chair in order to give Madame Pomfrey more room.

"And then I offered them drinks, you know, with it being the Weasley boy's birthday and all," Slughorn added.

"Ron drank his right away," Harry chimed in. "Auden and I hadn't even gotten to take a sip yet, but Ron basically inhaled it. And then, he fell on the floor and was twitching around."

"And you gave him a bezoar?" Madam Pomfrey asked, peering into Ron's mouth.

"Yes, I learned about it in Potions. Professor Snape mentioned it once," Harry said, glancing at Auden.

"Well, thank goodness for Professor Snape's lesson plan," Madam Pomfrey said, making a stretcher appear out of thin air and putting Ron on it.

Auden, Harry, and Professor McGonagall followed Madam Pomfrey out of the office. Slughorn wordlessly shut the door behind them.

"May I have a quick word with you two?" Professor McGonagall asked as Harry and Auden started to follow Madam Pomfrey down the hall. "You'll have plenty of time to visit Mr. Weasley. I assure you he won't be going anywhere."

Auden and Harry nodded. "What is it?" Auden asked.

"Do either of you have any idea why Professor Slughorn was in possession of a poisoned drink?" Professor asked seriously.

"He said," Auden began, glancing at Harry who nodded, "that he meant to give it to Dumbledore for Christmas."

"To Dumbledore?" McGonagall asked, looking shocked.

"Yeah, do you think the same person who gave Katie the necklace gave Slughorn the drink?" Harry asked.

"It's possible, Mr. Potter, but I think it would be wise if you just left this up to the teachers to figure out. That's all I wanted to talk to you about. You may go and visit with Mr. Weasley. I'll go find Miss Granger and Miss Weasley and let them know what happened."

Harry and Auden raced up to the hospital wing and barged through the doors, where Madam Pomfrey immediately shooed them out. "I'm not allowing visitors just yet. Wait here until I finish taking care of him. It shouldn't be long."

Frustrated, Auden slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor. Harry began pacing back and forth. Moments later, Hermione and Ginny came flying down the hallway.

"What happened?" Ginny asked. "McGongall said Ron was brought to the hospital wing."

"He was poisoned," Harry said grimly.

"Poisoned? Who poisoned him?" Hermione asked.

"We don't know," Auden said from the floor.

Auden and Harry took turns telling the story of what had happened. By the time they had finished, Hermione had sunk to the floor beside Auden and Ginny was asking questions as if determined to figure out exactly where the poisoned drink had come from.

"I don't think Slughorn would poison someone. Maybe it was the same person who gave Katie the necklace!"

"That's what I said," Harry added. "Probably Malfoy."

"We don't know that," Auden said. "Plus, why would Malfoy give the drink to Slughorn and not just leave it for Dumbledore anonymously?"

"I don't know," Harry said, "maybe so it would look like Slughorn was the one trying to poison Dumbledore and not just some anonymous person."

The door to the hospital wing opened and Madam Pomfrey stuck her head out. "You may come in now. He's not conscious yet, but he should be waking up soon."

Auden followed her friends inside and they surrounded Ron's bed. Harry and Hermione sat in chairs on either side of him while Auden and Ginny stood at the foot of the bed.

Almost immediately after, the doors flew open and Mr. and Mr. Weasley came inside. They ran over to Ron and Mrs. Weasley was close to tears. "Oh, Ron," she whispered.

"Here, take my seat, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said.

"No, no, you stay there, Harry. We've only just come in for a few minutes. We have to go talk to Dumbledore, and we'll be back later," she explained.

"He is expected to be alright," Madam Pomfrey announced gently. "Although, I'm going to want to keep him here for a while.

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley nodded.

"Come on, Molly," Mr. Weasley said, putting a hand on her arm and looking at Ron's unconscious body.

They left the room silently with their arms around each other. Madam Pomfrey walked back into her office and there was silence in the room once more. Ginny moved to stand by the window, but other than that, nobody moved. Auden wrapped her arms around herself. She was still trembling slightly, despite the fact that she knew Ron would be okay.

Just then, the door opened for a second time. Auden looked up and couldn't help but be surprised, even though she shouldn't have been. Fred and George were crossing the room towards them. They stopped at the end of Ron's bed before looking at the others.

"He's going to be alright?" questioned George in a hoarse whisper.

"Yes," Ginny said, looking over at him from across the room.

Fred then made a beeline for Auden and pulled her into a tight hug. Auden buried her face into his shirt. "It was so scary, Fred," she whispered.

"I know," he said, in a comforting tone, stroking her hair. "George and I rushed over here as soon as we got the news."

"I didn't know what was wrong with him. I thought he was going to die," Auden said.

"You're shaking," Fred observed, wrapping his arms even tighter around her.

"I'll be okay," she answered, pressing her cheek to Fred's chest even more.

"More visitors?" Madam Pomfrey asked in exasperation, sticking her head out of her office.

"They're family," Hermione said, breaking her gaze from Ron for the first time since they had gotten there.

"Oh, yes, well that's alright then," Madam Pomfrey said. She conjured up more chairs with her wand before retreating into her office again.

George and Ginny immediately sat down, but Auden didn't make a move to leave Fred's comforting embrace until he kissed her forehead and gently pulled away. "Sit," he said, gesturing to one of the two empty chairs. She sat down and he sat in the chair beside her, keeping a loose hold on her hand as he did so. "So, all in all, not one of Ron's better birthdays?" he asked after a brief pause.

"This isn't really how we imagined giving him our present," George said quietly, placing a wrapped gift on Ron's nightstand.

"Yeah, when we pictured the scene, he was conscious," Fred added. Auden half smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. He began tracing circles on her palm in order to contine to comfort her.

"There we were in Hogsmeade, waiting to surprise him-," began George.

"You were in Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked.

"Yeah," Fred said with a nod, "we were."

"Why?" Auden asked. "I told you the trip was canceled for today."

"I know, but we came anyway. We were thinking of buying Zonko's, you know, to have a Hogsmeade branch. And then we were going to come here and surprise you and celebrate your birthday and Ron's together today instead of on your birthday. Anyway, I have your gift too. Not exactly how I pictured giving you your gift either, but…" he trailed off and handed her a small package.

"Thanks," Auden said quietly.

"Are you going to open it?" Fred asked.

"It doesn't feel much like a time for opening gifts," Auden said.

"All the more reason to open it. It'll lighten the mood," George said.

Auden gave in and tore open the wrapping paper to reveal a box. She opened it and saw only a piece of paper inside.

_Auden,_

_Remember when you made reservations at that Hogsmeade restaurant for my birthday, but George and I left school? I believe I made you a promise to make it up to you, so we have reservations on the day of the next Hogsmeade trip, which, if my sources are correct, is April 7th. I bet you thought I forgot all about it, but I didn't. I've felt bad about that ever since I left school. I'll meet you in front of the Three Broomsticks at noon and we can walk over together. Happy Birthday and I love you to Pluto and back a million times._

_Love, Fred_

A smile crept over Auden's face, but at the same time, she had the weirdest urge to cry. She was so lucky to have Fred in her life and have him love her as much as he did. She didn't know what she would do if she ever lost him.

"Does that sound good to you?" Fred asked.

"It sounds great," she answered, nodding and leaning over to kiss him on the cheek.

"But wait," Fred said dramatically, "there's more."

"More?" Auden asked, surprised.

"Yes," Fred picked up a rectangular box that was lying on the next bed. Auden hadn't even noticed that he had brought it in with him.

"What is it?" Auden asked.

"Why don't you just open it and find out?" Fred asked with a laugh.

Auden grinned and quickly tore open the wrapping paper and lifted the lid of the box. Her mouth fell open and Ginny and Hermione, who were craning their necks to see, gasped. Auden reached inside and lifted out the object. It was a silver, strapless dress that looked about knee length. The skirt flared out a little at the bottom and there was a silver sash tied around the waist area with a bow on the center left of the dress. The material was soft and shiny and glittered in the light.

"I want you to wear it when we go on our date," Fred said. "If you like it, that is. If you don't you can return it…"

Auden silenced him by throwing her arms around his neck. "I love it," she whispered in his ear. Fred beamed at her and took her hand again.

"As soon as I saw it, I couldn't stop picturing you in it," he whispered, just loud enough for only Auden to hear. "And if my imagination proves correct, you're going to look so, _so_ gorgeous."

Auden smiled and gave his hand a squeeze. "We'll get to find out on April 7th," she whispered back.

"Is there any way to make time go faster?" Fred muttered as he gently kissed her temple.

"No, unfortuntely," Auden sighed, leaning into his touch.

"Oi, save it for your date," George ordered with a grin as Auden blushed and Fred laughed. There was another pause before George spoke again. "So, exactly what happened, Harry?" he asked, gesturing to Ron with a tilt of his head.

Harry glanced at Auden and for what seemed like the millionth time that day, they were explaining what had happened to Ron.

"So the poison was in the drink?" Fred asked.

Harry nodded and Auden felt Fred's eyes on her. She knew what he was thinking. She and Harry had come so close to drinking it as well. She had been seconds away from lying in the hospital too. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened if Slughorn didn't have enough bezoars or didn't think to use one.

She felt Fred begin to stroke her cheek and she looked up. "I didn't know the drink would be poisoned," she said.

"I know," he answered. "But it just worries me to think about the possibilities of what might have happened." Auden was surprised to see his eyes filling with tears.

"Don't cry," she whispered, burying her face into his neck, "or else you'll make me cry."

Fred gave a small laugh and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I can't even bear to think what would have happened if I lost the three of you on the same day," he said.

"Do you think Slughorn could have slipped something into only Ron's drink?" George asked.

"Why would he want to poison Ron?" asked Ginny.

"Who knows," George answered.

"Maybe he was trying to get you, Harry," Fred said. "Or someone else could've planted it there. You know, the Chosen One and all that."

"I think they were going for Dumbledore," Harry said. "Slughorn said he had meant to give it to Dumbledore for Christmas but he forgot. I think the same person that was behind this was behind the attack on Katie."

"Malfoy?" George asked, looking up.

Harry nodded and told them about Malfoy disappearing off the map.

"Maybe the map had a small glitch or something," Hermione chimed in.

"Hermione, the map is never wrong," Fred told her.

Just then, the door opened and Lavender came running in. "I only just heard," she gasped. "Oh, Won-Won are you okay?" She seemed oblivious to the fact that Ron was unconscious as she asked the question. Then, she pushed her way in front of Harry so that she could kneel at the side of Ron's bed. She took his hand and looked into his face. She glanced at Hermione, who was holding Ron's other hand. "I can take it from here," Lavender said with a fake smile. Hermione dropped Ron's hand and looked away angrily.

Suddenly, Ron's eyelids fluttered.

"Ron?" Auden asked.

"Won-Won, it's Lavender, please wake up."

Ron mumbled something and everyone looked around with confused looks on their faces as if expecting someone to have understood.

"What was that, Ron?" Fred asked. "We couldn't quite make that out."

"Hermione," Ron croaked so quietly it was barely audible.

Hermione's eyes widened and Lavender blinked. "Are you breaking up with me?" she demanded.

Auden raised an eyebrow. Ron had just been poisoned and Lavender was concerned about him breaking up with her. And besides that, he wasn't even concious. He was simply muttering in his sleep.

"Hermione," Ron whispered again.

"Well, then," Lavender said shakily, standing up. "I guess that's it then." She stared around at everyone as if she wanted someone to jump up and say it was all a joke and it was Ron's dearest wish to marry Lavender and have boat loads of children, but nobody said anything.

Lavender stormed out of the room in a huff, while Hermione smiled warmly at Ron and took his hand as he drifted off into sleep again.

"Well, I think it's time to get going," Fred said, stretching. "I will see you," he tapped Auden's nose, "on the 7th."

Auden smiled and quickly kissed him before he left the room with George.

Ron woke up the next day, but it was another week before Madam Pomfrey let him leave the hospital wing.

"I kind of ruined your birthday, didn't I?" he asked Auden. She had gone with Harry, Hermione and Ginny to visit him on her birthday and had a mini party complete with Ron sharing some of his candy that he had received as gifts.

"No, you didn't. I had fun," she told him.

"Sure you did. You were visiting your sickly friend in the hospital wing."

"The only way you would've ruined my birthday is if you died. So thank you for not dying," Auden said.

"Don't mention it," Ron smirked.

* * *

On the day of April 7th, Auden woke up with anxious butterflies in her stomach. She had her date with Fred this afternoon.

"How are you doing your hair?" Ginny asked immediately after barging into Auden's dorm.

"What a lovely greeting," Hermione said, as she headed into the bathroom.

"There's no time for proper greetings," Ginny said, waving her hand around. "I've known Auden way too long for those." She grabbed Auden's arm and dragged her to the mirror hanging on the wall. "Stay," she commanded.

"Yes, ma'am," Auden said, nodding her head seriously.

Ginny grabbed a chair sitting in the corner and dragged it to the mirror. "Sit," she said, pushing on Auden's shoulders to make her sit.

At once, Ginny got to work. Half the time she was standing in front of Auden and blocking her view of the mirror. "For all I know, you could be giving me the worst hairstyle ever right now," Auden said, folding her arms.

"She caught you, Ginny," Hermione said, leaning against the nearest bedpost.

Ginny smiled slightly before finally stopping her work. "You're done," she said. She moved away from the mirror and Auden finally saw what she had done to her hair.

"Wow, Ginny, thanks. This is great." Ginny had changed Auden's usually straight hair into flowy waves and she had taken the front strands on either side of her head and pinned them in the back, where she had stuck the flower that Hermione had given Auden for her birthday the year before.

Auden went to the bathroom and changed into her dress from Fred. It fit her perfectly and she saw the flower in her hair change to the exact silver of the dress.

"Wow, you're a knockout," Ginny said, when Auden came out of the bathroom. "Fred will probably pass out when he sees you."

"Shut up, no he won't," Auden blushed.

"I hope not, for your sake. It wouldn't be a very fun date if he was passed out into his soup the whole time," Ginny smirked.

Hermione and Ginny insisted on walking with Auden to the Three Broomsticks. Auden saw Fred already standing out front, looking the other way and fiddling with the ends of his sleeve. Suddenly, she was nervous. This was their first official date out at a restaurant and not at some improvised location at the Burrow or Hogwarts. Not that those weren't nice, but this was different and new and nerve-wracking.

"I'm nervous," Auden found herself confessing to her friends. "I shouldn't be nervous. This is bad."

"It's not bad," Hermione said. "You're just nervous because you've never been on a proper date with him before. You'll be fine."

Ginny gave Auden one last examination. "Tilt your head back for a second," she said.

"Why?" Auden asked, following her orders anyway.

"Booger check," Ginny shrugged.

"Ginny, that's gross!" Auden said as Ginny peered into her nostrils.

"You're good, though. Not a single bat in the cave."

"Thank goodness for that," Auden answered.

"You said it, now go," Ginny said.

"Have fun," Hermione said, nudging Auden forward. She walked up behind Fred and tapped him on the shoulder, her heart pounding as he turned around and stared at her.

"Wow," he whispered, his jaw dropping and his eyes widening.

"That's all you have to say?" she asked, smiling.

"I'm speechless," he answered.

"I'll take that as a good thing," she said.

"It's definitely a good thing," Fred replied, his voice low. "You look better than I ever imagined."

Auden smiled, almost shyly. "Thanks," she whispered.

Fred held out his arm. "Are you ready for the best date of your life?"

"I was born ready," Auden said, taking his arm. She couldn't stop grinning the whole way to the restaurant. It was amazing how even going on a simple date with Fred could make her feel like she was on top of the world.

* * *

**A/N: The title from this chapter comes from the song **_**Mine**_** by Taylor Swift. **

**I think either the next chapter or the one after will be the last one for this story, depending on how much I write in the next chapter, but I'm going to make a third Auden/Fred story continuing from where I leave off and when I get the first chapter done, I'll put a preview of it on this story :)**


	31. Chapter 31: Remember The Time

After a few minutes of walking, Auden and Fred reached the restaurant.

"Ladies first," Fred said holding the door open and gesturing for her to go inside.

"Thank you. What a gentleman," Auden said with a smile.

They were shown to their table, where Auden began flipping through the menu.

"What are you going to have?" Fred asked, his eyes scanning his own menu.

"I have no idea," Auden said. "Everything sounds good. What are you going to get?"

"I don't know, I was thinking of getting lasagna," Fred said smirking.

Auden laughed, remembering the time they tried to make lasagna in the Weasley's kitchen. "How about we both get lasagna and see if it's any better than the one we made?" she suggested.

"It's a deal," Fred said, setting his menu down and staring at Auden. "You know, you really do look amazing."

"Thanks. Ginny said you were going to pass out when you saw me."

Fred laughed. "I'm surprised I didn't. I'm actually angry that this table is here and blocking my view."

"You can see my face and that's all you need to see," Auden said with a smile. "Do you need me to stand up and model for you?"

"Not now," Fred said seriously. "I don't want anyone else to choke on their food when they see you."

Auden laughed and shook her head.

"I'm thinking of their safety," Fred said.

"Sure you are," Auden grinned.

They ordered their food and while they waited, Fred insisted that they play a game.

"What game do you want to play?" Auden asked.

"Okay, so one of us starts and says the name of a food and then the next person has to say a food that begins with the last letter of the previous food. So, for example, if I said pizza, you'd have to say a food that begins with the letter 'a', and then I'd have to say a food that begins with the last letter of your food. Oh, and the trick is, we can't repeat foods."

Auden giggled. "Can't seem to get your mind off of food, can you?"

"Hey, I'm hungry," Fred said in defense.

"It's okay, it sounds like a fun game. Let's play," Auden said. "You can go first."

"Okay, pizza," Fred said.

"Apples," Auden shot back.

"Salami."

"Ice Cream."

The answers started out quickly, until they began using more and more foods and couldn't repeat any. The hardest letter, they found out, was the letter 'e'.

"Umm, egg yolk…does that count?" Auden asked.

"It's not technically something you would eat," Fred pointed out.

"Ah, but you didn't say it had to be something we would eat. You said it had to be a food."

"True," Fred shrugged. "Okay, it counts."

Their game ended there because the waitress showed up with their food. "How is it?" Auden asked. "Is it as good as ours?"

"Not even close," Fred said seriously.

"I have to agree," Auden said, smiling.

The rest of the date went wonderfully. Auden was disappointed that it had to come to an end. She actually didn't want to have to go back to school because Fred wouldn't be able to come with her.

Because of this, they took their time walking back to the Hogwarts gates, but they still got there all too soon and were faced with another goodbye.

"I'd say it was a successful first date," Fred smirked, gently twirling a piece of Auden's hair around his finger.

"I'd say so too," Auden agreed. "But the date's not over yet. You're forgetting an essential part."

"And what would that be?" Fred asked.

"Well, let's see, we went on the date, and now you brought me home." Auden gestured to the castle. "You're supposed to tell me that you had fun, I'm supposed to agree, and then you're supposed to kiss me and I'm supposed to be ecstatic. That's usually how first dates go."

"Well, I was getting to all that," Fred said, looking slightly lost. He cleared his throat. "I had a wonderful time with you today."

"I had a wonderful time too," Auden whispered, smiling.

Fred smiled and leaned forward until his nose was touching Auden's. After a few seconds of hesitation, he closed the gap and gently kissed her. "How was that? Are you ecstatic?" he asked.

"Definitely," Auden answered. They reluctantly dropped each other's hands and Auden began walking up to the castle. She glanced over her shoulder once to see Fred standing there, watching her leave through the bars of the front gates. Her throat constricted. He looked so sad watching her leave and she was sad having to walk away from him. She paused for a moment before turning and running back to the gate where she leaned up and kissed Fred through the bars. "Goodbyes are really hard," she whispered, pulling away.

Fred chuckled. "I know," he agreed, "but I'll be seeing you in a few months. Write me letters. Count down the days again like we did for Christmas. We'll talk on the mirrors. We'll be okay."

Auden nodded and managed a smile. "I'll see you soon," she whispered.

"See you soon," Fred agreed.

When Auden finally got back to the common room, she saw Hermione and Ron sitting on the couch with Harry standing in front of them. "Well, I'm going to Hagrid's," Harry declared, sounding extra happy for some reason.

"No, Harry. You need to go talk to Slughorn!" Hermione exclaimed in horror.

"I just have a really good feeling about Hagrid's tonight," Harry said, backing away. "I feel like it's just the place to be."

Auden had stopped where she was and was watching with a slight frown on her face. Something was up.

"Hi Auden, you're looking spectacular this evening," Harry said with a grin and an enthusiastic wave.

"Uh, thanks. Have fun at Hagrid's," she answered.

"Oh, I will. I think it'll be a real blast," he said, exiting the room.

"What's going on?" Auden asked.

"He took a sip from his Felix Felicis," Hermione explained as Auden sat in one of the armchairs.

"So he can get the memory from Slughorn," Ron added. "But now he's gone off to Hagrid's. I don't see how that's going to help."

"Neither do I," Hermione sighed. "But I don't think there's any stopping him."

It wasn't until a few hours later that Harry returned, bursting into the common room excitedly. "I got it!" he exclaimed.

Auden had changed into comfortable clothes, including Fred's sweatshirt, and was sitting on the couch with Ron and Hermione, doing homework. At the sound of Harry's voice, they all looked up immediately.

"You did?" they all asked at once.

"Yeah!" he exclaimed, waving a small vial with a silvery substance inside.

"How?" Hermione asked.

"Did you end up at Hagrid's?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, and I met Slughorn on the way. He said he'd escort me there since it's dangerous to be out alone at night. When we got there, Hagrid was upset about Aragog dying, so he took out some firewhiskey. Next thing I knew, they were both drunk, and I convinced Slughorn to give me the memory."

"Wow, good for you," Auden said, grinning. "It's a good thing you won that potion then."

"It's a good thing I had the Prince to help me."

* * *

Harry brought the memory to Dumbledore at their next lesson together. According to Harry, Dumbledore was supposed to tell him what had happened to his hand any day now. Auden was anxious to know what had made the headmaster's hand shrivel up and turn black like that. Supposedly it was all connected to Voldemort.

Katie had come back to school in the middle of April, and by the beginning of May, she was able to play Quidditch again. It was great having her back. Under Harry's amazing coaching skills, the team was better than ever and confident that they would win the final match.

Their confidence faded, though, when Harry announced that Snape had given him a detention, resulting in Harry not being able to play.

"How are we going to replace you?" Auden groaned when Harry broke the news during the last practice before the match.

Harry chewed his lip for a second. "I've got it. Ginny would you mind replacing me as Seeker? And we can ask Dean to fill in as Chaser." Harry seemed a lot more optimistic about Dean now that Ginny had broken up with him.

"Sure, I'll do it. You'll have to talk to Dean though. I'm not in the mood to speak with him at the moment."

On the day of the match, Auden changed into her Quidditch robes and followed the team out to the field. The captain of the opposing team was smirking at them. He seemed to think they were doomed without Harry and Auden had to wonder if they actually were.

* * *

Auden screamed with joy as Ginny closed her hand on the Snitch, winning Gryffindor the match. It had been a great game. Ron had only allowed the other team to make three goals, and Gryffindor had scored seven goals for themselves, making the score 70 to 30 even before Ginny had caught the Snitch.

"We won, we won!" Auden cheered, landing on the ground and hugging every member of the team.

"We did it! Harry's going to be so happy!" Ginny shouted, waving the Snitch in the air.

"Congratulations!" Hermione joined them and hugged Auden and Ginny before flinging herself at Ron, who turned bright red.

"Party in the common room in twenty minutes," Dean said, patting Ron on the back as he passed.

"Where's Harry?" Hermione asked Auden, half an hour later. They were standing by the common room entrance, looking out over the party.

"Probably still in detention. He better get back soon though, or all of the food is going to be gone. It never lasts long, especially when you put it in front of a hungry Quidditch team."

"And especially when one of the team members is Ron Weasley," Hermione smirked, watching Ron open a Chocolate Frog, examine the card, and throw it aside, dejected.

There was a loud cheer, and Auden looked up to see that Harry had entered the room. "We won?" he asked.

"No, we threw a party because we lost," Auden said sarcastically. She was almost thrown off her feet as Ginny ran past her, towards Harry. She threw her arms around him, and Harry laughed as he spun her around. Then, he kissed her, right then and there in front of everyone.

Auden and Hermione began jumping up and down excitedly. Dean didn't seem to have noticed that his glass of butterbeer that he was pouring was overflowing. Ron looked as if he had been hit on the head, but then his face broke into a grin.

"Let's go for a walk," Harry murmured to Ginny.

"Wait!" Auden yelled. Harry and Ginny froze halfway to the door and Auden grinned. "Ginny, how are you doing your hair?"

Ginny smiled. "I'm thinking the way it is should be fine."

"At least let me give you this," Auden said, removing the flower from her own hair and sticking it in Ginny's. It turned a pale blue to match her shirt. "I owe you for doing my hair for my date. You can return it tomorrow."

"Thanks," Ginny said, allowing Harry to lead her from the room.

* * *

Soon, it was the beginning of June. Just a few weeks earlier, Auden, Ron and Hermione had been able to take their Apparition tests. Harry hadn't made the cutoff date so would have to take the test sometime in the next few weeks. Hermione and Auden had passed with flying colors, but Ron had just barely failed. He had left his eyebrow behind, which Auden thought was an unfair reason to fail him.

One night in mid-June, Auden was sitting in the common room with Ron and Hermione as usual, doing an essay for Professor Snape. Hermione had already finished hers, and Ron hadn't even started. Ginny was sitting on the floor, playing with Arnold the Pygmy Puff. Harry was at a lesson with Dumbledore.

"Lavender's glaring at you again," Auden told Ron, noticing Lavender sitting across the room with Parvati.

"Who cares?" Ron asked. "Can I copy your essay, Hermione?"

"No, write it yourself," Hermione said automatically, continuing her reading.

"You know," Ginny said suddenly. "Romilda Vane hasn't stopped asking me whether or not Harry's got a tattoo of a hippogriff on his chest."

"What'd you tell her?" Auden asked.

"I told her it was a dragon," Ginny replied. "I also told her Ron has one of a Pygmy Puff." She smirked.

"Nice, Ron," Auden joked as Hermione laughed.

"Thanks, Gin," Ron muttered. He buried his nose in his Potions book as Lavender and Parvati stood up to go to bed just then, Lavender still glaring.

Suddenly, Harry burst into the room and ran up to the boys' dorms without even acknowledging anyone.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about that?" Hermione asked.

"Because Harry in a hurry is usually never a good sign," Auden said.

Harry returned a few minutes later and came over to them. "I don't have a lot of time. I'm meeting Dumbledore again soon. He sent me back her to get the cloak, but I wanted to give you this." He passed Ron the bottle filled with the rest of the liquid luck potion.

"Why?" Ginny asked, looking nervous. "Where are you going with Dumbledore that you need the cloak?"

"I can't say," Harry said, shaking his head.

"But why do we need this?" Ron asked.

"Dumbledore won't be here tonight. Malfoy will have a clear shot at whatever he's planning. I heard him in the Room of Requirement not too long ago. He knows about the room and he's been planning something in there. I heard him celebrating. Tonight he's going to be free to do what he needs to do. Whatever he's been planning is ready."

"Are you sure?" Auden asked.

"Yes," Harry said. "Dumbledore said he put protection all around the castle, but if Snape is in on the plan, he'll know how to get by it. Take the map," he passed them the Marauder's map, "and keep an eye out for Snape and Malfoy."

"Harry, you should take the Felix Felicis," Hermione said. "Who knows what you'll have to face."

"I agree completely," Ginny said, nodding.

"No, I'll be fine. I'm going to be with Dumbledore. You take it. Share it with as many D.A. members as you can. Neville, Luna, Ernie, Hannah, round them all up, patrol the halls. Those communication Galleons still work, right, Hermione?"

"Yes, but-,"

"Don't argue with me, Hermione," Harry said, holding up his hand. "Just do what I said. I'll see you later." He quickly kissed Ginny and bolted out the door.

"Well, what do we do?" Ron asked, turning the small bottle in his fingers.

"I guess we should do what he says," Hermione answered, sitting on the edge of the chair. She took the bottle from Ron and uncorked it. "I'll go first."

"Wait, Neville, come here!" Auden said, seeing Neville enter the room. When he joined them, Auden quickly explained what was going on.

"We don't have enough of that for the whole DA," Neville said, pointing at the small bottle. "It looks barely enough for the five of us."

"We know, but Harry said to use it," Hermione said. She took a small sip.

"How do you feel?" Ginny asked.

"Really good!" Hermione said, smiling. She passed the bottle to Ron, who took a sip and passed it to Ginny, who passed it to Neville.

"I don't think there's enough," Neville said. "You take it, Aud."

"No, Neville, you should take it."

"Are you saying I need the luck more?" he asked jokingly.

"No, not at all," Auden said, blushing.

"It's okay, I probably do. Are you sure you want me to take it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be fine."

Neville drank the last little bit of potion before setting the now empty bottle on the table.

"I've sent messages to the members of the DA," Hermione said, holding up her Galleon. "I told them to start patrolling the hallways, looking for anything suspicious. We should get out there, too."

The five of them left the common room, holding their wands out ahead of them. "Should we start by blocking the Room of Requirement hallway?" Auden asked.

"Yeah, how about you and Neville go down there," Hermione said. "Ginny and I will go to the dungeons and try to distract Snape, and Ron-,"

"I'll go stand in the dungeons near the Slytherin common room, in case Malfoy tries to hide in there or something."

"He's not in there now," Hermione said, glancing at the map. "In fact, he's not on here at all."

"Alright, let's go, I don't think we have time to waste," Neville said.

Auden followed him to the Room of Requirement hallway. As soon as they got there, the door to the room began to appear. Neville pulled Auden behind a statue and they watched as Malfoy exited the Room of Requirement followed by a line of Death Eaters including Bellatrix Lestrange and Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf.

"Stay here," Neville whispered.

"No," Auden said, tugging on his sleeve, "you can't go out there."

"I have the Felix Felicis. I'll be fine. Once the coast is clear, go find the others and warn them that Death Eaters are in the castle." He didn't leave any time for Auden to argue. He raced out from behind the statue and began shooting spells at the Death Eaters while running down the hall.

"Follow him!" screeched Bellatrix. Auden then noticed Draco take a right at the end of the hallway, instead of a left like everyone else. Definitely weird, but she had to warn the others. She didn't have time to follow him right now.

"Hermione! Death Eaters are in the castle!" Auden yelped, seeing Hermione and Ginny leaving the dungeons.

"So that's what all that noise was. We heard explosions. It must have been their spells. Oh, I hope everyone's okay."

"Look," Ginny said. "Order members are here!" She was right. Tonks and Lupin were entering the castle along with Kingsley, Bill, and Sirius.

There was a loud bang from overhead and a scream. Dust fell from the ceiling and the three girls jumped out of the way just in time as a statue was blasted over the edge of the second floor railing.

Auden crawled out from behind the debris and saw Fred and George running into the castle. Of course they would be here; they were part of the Order now. Auden tried calling Fred's name, but she accidentally inhaled a mouthful of dust and ended up coughing instead. Fred and George ran up the stairs without noticing her.

Hermione and Ginny had disappeared. The battle was getting more chaotic. It seemed as if more Death Eaters had been let inside the castle. Auden wondered how Malfoy had managed it and where he had gone.

"Stupify!" she yelled, sending a Death Eater flying backwards. He hit the wall, and slid to the floor.

"Oh, you're going to pay for that," a raspy voice said from behind her. A Death Eater grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head backwards, pressing a wand into her throat. Auden stomped on his foot and elbowed him in the stomach at the same time, forcing the now breathless Death Eater to let go of her.

She had to find Fred. She had to make sure he was alright. Even if she just caught a glimpse of him. On the third floor, she got her wish. She saw Fred and George dueling a man who looked like Crabbe's father. Fred sent a curse at the man that caused his nose to swell to the size of a pumpkin. The man staggered around, holding his nose, his head drooping.

"Fred," Auden gasped, running towards him. He turned and a relieved expression flashed over his face.

"Auden, you're okay."

"Yeah, I had to see you," she whispered, reaching him. He cupped her face in his hands and looked down at her.

"Oi!" George suddenly yelled. A curse shot over Fred and Auden's heads, just missing them and shattering a window behind them. Fred pulled Auden to him to shield her from the falling glass and she felt him wince as a shard scratched his cheek.

"I need to go," Auden whispered, pulling away. "We can't afford to get distracted." She turned and headed back down the hallway.

"No," Fred said quietly.

"I have to. I'll be all right. Don't worry." Auden gave him a smile and turned to run the other way. She raced down hallway after hallway, sending spells at any Death Eater she saw. It must have been another half an hour until she ran into Neville.

"Auden…I just heard," he said breathlessly, grabbing her arm.

"What is it?" she asked, her heart pounding in her chest.

"One of the Weasleys, I don't know who, but they're in the hospital wing. Luna told me she saw someone with red hair being carried up there. They were unconscious and bleeding pretty badly, according to her."

Auden suddenly felt like she was going to faint. What if it was Fred? Just the fact that it was a Weasley was bad enough. She began running towards the hospital wing as fast as she could, ignoring Neville's protests.

"Auden, look out!" This time, Neville's voice got through to her. There was something different about it this time-something more urgent. She turned slightly to see what was happening. It was as if life were happening in slow motion. Neville was running at her, and a jet of green light was shooting through the air towards her. Neville tackled Auden to the ground, the spell missing them by inches. Auden felt herself falling, and then her head collided with the stone floor and everything went black.

* * *

The battle had just ended and Fred hadn't seen Auden since she had disappeared on him. He hoped that she was okay-he hoped that everyone was okay.

"Some battle, huh?" George asked, running his fingers through his dust coated hair.

"Yeah," Fred agreed. He looked at the few unconscious Death Eaters littering the hallway around them.

"Fred, George!" They both turned to see Tonks running towards them. "I'm so glad I found you. Bill's in the hospital wing."

"What?" George gasped.

"Yeah, I'm sorry to have to tell you, but he was attacked by Greyback," Tonks said sadly.

"Fenrir Greyback? The werewolf?" Fred paled.

Tonks nodded. "Come on, let's walk and I'll fill you in."

"How did it happen?" George asked, as they walked up the stairs to the hospital wing.

"Bill had just dived out of the way to avoid a curse sent by a Death Eater and before he could get back on his feet, Greyback attacked from behind."

"So is Bill going to be a—a—," George broke off.

"A werewolf? Well, Madam Pomfrey doesn't think so," Tonks said. "It wasn't a full moon tonight, so Greyback wasn't at his most dangerous time."

They reached the hospital wing and Fred immediately saw his parents, Auden's parents, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Lupin Sirius, and Fleur huddled around Bill's bed. He couldn't see his oldest brother because of all the people, but he and George rushed to the side of the bed. This was all too familiar. They had just done the same thing for Ron a few months ago.

"Oh no," Fred gasped, seeing Bill's scratched and bloody face.

"My poor, poor son," Mrs. Weasley was sobbing as she dabbed Bill's face with a cloth. "He was such a handsome boy and he was going to be married."

"What do you mean, _going _to be married?" demanded Fleur. "You theenk that I weel not want to marry Beel now that he looks like thees? Well, I still do! I don't care what he looks like. I am good looking enough for both of us, I theenk! And I weel do that!" She took the cloth from a shocked Mrs. Weasley and began to gently dab at Bill's face.

"Our great Aunt Murial," began Mrs. Weasley, glancing at her husband, "has a beautiful goblin made tiara. I'd love for you to wear it at your wedding."

"That would be lovely," Fleur said softly. And just like that, Fleur and Mrs. Weasley were crying into each other's arms.

"See?" Tonks said angrily, facing Lupin. "She doesn't care that he's been bitten!"

"This is a different case," Lupin said, shaking his head. "Bill won't be a full werewolf. He will only show some qualities."

"I don't care! I don't, really, I don't!" Tonks cried.

"Looks like her decision is made, Remus," Sirius grinned.

Fred rolled his eyes and smiled. Auden would be grinning like an idiot right now. Suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. She wasn't here. In all the commotion about Bill, he hadn't noticed and it made him feel slightly guilty. He turned to George. "Auden's not here," he whispered.

George looked around. "Merlin, she's not," he answered, blinking.

Fred felt as if he were in a dream. He tried to think clearly. He knew Auden would have come to find him to make sure he was okay. She would have definitely come to see Bill if she had known he was here. She had to know he was here, right? Hermione was here and Ginny too. Harry wasn't, though. Maybe she was with Harry. That had to be it.

The door opened and Fred turned around, expecting to see Auden, but it was Harry, alone and looking pale and disoriented.

"Harry!" Tonks exclaimed. "Where were you? What's happened?"

"Do you know where Auden is?" Mrs. Parker asked. "When she didn't come in with the twins, I thought she'd be with you."

"That's what I was thinking," Fred said.

"I don't know where Auden is," Harry shook his head.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Sirius, rushing to his side.

"Dumbledore's dead," Harry said dully, sinking onto a bed. He was looking at Bill with an expression of sadness and regret. He was feeling guilty about all of this, Fred realized, but he couldn't say anything right now. He was in shock, trying to make sense of all the news. Bill had been attacked by Greyback, Auden wasn't here, and Dumbledore was dead.

"Dead, Harry? Are you sure?" Mr. Weasley asked.

"Yes, I saw it happen. It was Snape."

"Snape?" asked Lupin.

"Yes," Harry nodded. "He killed him…used the killing curse. We were on the astronomy tower and Dumbledore…" He moved his hand in a falling motion.

The room was absolutely silent until the door to the hospital wing opened once again and Fred looked up. His heart immediately dropped to his knees. It was Neville, carrying an unconscious Auden.

"Put her here," Madam Pomfrey ordered, hustling towards them and pointing to an empty bed. Everyone immediately crowded around her.

"I had just told her that Luna had seen a Weasley being carried to the hospital wing," Neville said, launching into the story without prompt. "She took off running. I think she thought it might've been you, Fred. Anyway, Bellatrix came around the corner from behind. She shot a killing curse at Auden and I shoved her out of the way, but she hit her head. I'm so sorry." He sank down into a chair beside Auden's bed.

"No, Neville, you did the right thing," Mr. Parker said, his face white.

"Yes, she's alive, at least," Madam Pomfrey said, checking Auden's wrist for a pulse.

Fred knelt beside the bed and took Auden's hand. "Auden," he croaked. "Please wake up. You're going to be alright. I'm here. Please, open your eyes." He pressed her hand to his lips and held it there as he tried to calm down.

"I'm going to try something that will let me know if she has any kind of head trauma," Madam Pomfrey said. "A concussion or something along those lines." She hurried away and returned with a small dropper and a bottle of liquid. "I have to drop a single drop of this liquid on her tongue and the color will let me know what the damage is, if any."

"What's the color for no damage?" Fred asked.

"It will stay clear," the nurse replied. "Any color would mean that the damage is curable and she will be perfectly fine eventually, but black…well, let's just say we don't want black."

"Come on Auden, keep it clear. No black," Fred said, squeezing his girlfriend's limp hand. His chest was tight and he couldn't breathe.

Madam Pomfrey pulled on Auden's chin, opening her mouth, and squeezed the liquid out of the dropper onto Auden's tongue. After a few seconds, it turned a light blue.

"What does that mean?" Mrs. Parker asked anxiously. "What damage is that?" She sounded on the verge of tears.

"It's amnesia," Madam Pomfrey said. "I'm sorry, I should've mentioned this earlier, but there's nothing I can actually _do_ for amnesia. The only cure is time. If she recovers at all, it will have to be up to you."

"What do you mean?" Mr. Parker asked.

"When she wakes up, you have to talk to her and try to jog her memory. It might be a long process. And it will be difficult for all of you as well," Madam Pomfrey said, "because when she wakes up, she won't remember a thing. She won't remember who she is or who any of you are. You will be complete strangers to her."

* * *

**A/N: This the last chapter for this story, but I am making a third one, which will be up soon! I'll put up a preview on this story so that everyone knows when it's up. **

**Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this story, and the**** song in the title of this chapter is **_**Remember the Time**_** by Michael Jackson. Thank you for all the reviews and for adding me to story alert/favorite author/favorite story for both this story and Always There.**


	32. Chapter 32: Sequel

**A/N: This is just a preview for my next story. The first chapter is up now and hopefully I can get the second one up soon! :)**

* * *

"Tell me something about us," Auden demanded. "I want to remember. I will be able to remember eventually, won't I?"

"Madam Pomfrey thinks so, but she doesn't know how long it will take," Fred said, wiping his nose on the back of his hand.

"Okay, well, start talking," Auden said.

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about how you asked me out," Auden said. She sat up in her bed and looked at him eagerly.

Fred smiled for a brief second. "What is this, girl talk?"

"Yes, now tell me," Auden said. "Is it a romantic story?"

"I think so," he said. "We started dating on Christmas Eve two years ago. It'll be three this Christmas. Anyway, you were fourteen, I was sixteen."

"What month is it now?" Auden asked.

"June," Fred answered.

"Wow, two and a half years," Auden sighed.

"And counting," Fred responded.

"Right," Auden said. "Anyway, continue."

"Okay, well I guess I should say that I started liking you the summer before your third year, but I didn't realize it. George knew before I did, actually. George is my twin," he added after seeing Auden's blank face. His heart dropped at her lack of knowledge of things she once knew. "Anyway, after that, I was able to admit it to myself, and that wasn't until the summer before your fourth year, but then you started dating Cedric Diggory in September. He was popular and a Quidditch player. Do you know what Quidditch is? It's a game played on brooms. You used to play, and so did I when I was at school here."

"Then what?" Auden asked.

"We got into a fight," he said, turning red. "There was a tournament going on that year with three tasks. Cedric and Harry were both in it and you were cheering for him and I accused you of cheering for the enemy because he was in Hufflepuff. It's not one of my proudest moments."

"So how long were we in a fight for?"

"A month. Cedric broke up with you at the Yule Ball, a dance we had here on Christmas Eve. It was a mutual break up and I didn't know about it, so I found you and told you he was flirting with Cho Chang. You told me you didn't care because-,"

"Because why?" Auden whispered, leaning towards him.

"Because you were in love with me," Fred said. He was grinning at the memory and he looked up at Auden.

"And?" Auden prompted in a whisper.

"And then, we kissed. Just thinking about it gives me butterflies. Even after all this time," he said.

"It was that amazing?" Auden asked.

Fred nodded. "Did any of that ring a bell? Bring back a flood of memories?"

"No," Auden shook her head. "I'm sorry."


End file.
